With parents like that
by Kissa-chan
Summary: COMPLETE! Kenshin gets turned into a baby. Now its up to Kaoru and Enishi to see what happens next. R&R (rest and relaxation, or read and review) - Thank-you!
1. A strange visitor

The young woman starred in disbelief at the tall white haired man. "Yukishira Enishi," she gasped. She couldn't understand what he was doing at the Kamiya Dojo. It had been a little over a year since Kenshin's crazy brother-in-law had been arrested, escaped prison, and then vanished from there lives for what everyone hoped would be forever.  
  
The last time he had come, he had cast her life and the life of Kenshin into turmoil with his horrible plans for Jinchuu against his sister's murderer. He had started by blowing up the Akkabeko, before kidnapping her and making Kenshin think that she was dead. In the end, the red haired rouroni had been able to stop him, but it had nearly cost him his life. Of course he had saved her life too.  
  
"Kamiya Karou," the tall man rasped. He leaned against the frame of the dojo's front door heavily as he said her name.  
  
Karou's horror at his arrival faded away as she took in his tattered appearance. His normally wild white hair was dark with the combined forces of blood and dirt clinging to it. His usually tanned face was thin and worn with exaustion. His aquarmarie eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by dark bags. His clothes was torn, covered with blood and dirt, and hung on his bruised form effortlessly. In his arms he held a small bundle of magneta cloth.  
  
She stepped foreword. "Let me help you," she said quickly. Whatever had happened in the past would have to be ignored for now. He needed her help, and had even come looking for it, or at least she assumed that he had come looking for either her help or the help of Kenshin.  
  
He stared at her hand suspiciously for a moment then sighed heavily, exhaustion dulling his senses. "Arigatou," he said softly. "I didn't think that you would help." He stepped foreword, teetering on exhausted limbs.   
  
Karou hesitated then placed one small hand around his back and led him into the dojo. Yahiko was working at the Akkebeko and Kenshin was delivering some medicine for Dr. Gensai in Hokkaido so she was all alone with the tall man. But where should she put him? Kenshin and Yahiko wouldn't take kindly to having someone sleeping in their beds, would they? That left her bed, the rest of the bedding was outside dripping wet and hanging on the clothes line.  
  
"Arigatou," he whispered again causing her to jump slightly. She slid open the door to her room and led him inside. She flipped the futon open with her foot and stared at the clear white sheets for a moment before leading him back outside and to the bath house.   
  
"You're going to have to get cleaned up a bit first," she told him. "Then you can rest and tell me what happened."   
  
He pulled away from her, swaying slightly, before placing his hand on the wall to steady himself. Karou looked him over quickly, and after seeing no serious injuries pulled the door open and stepped outside. "Matte!" she heard him say, but ignored it for the moment.  
  
'He'll need something clean to wear,' she thought. She realized that all of the clothes at the dojo would be to short on the tall man. Kenshin, Yahiko, and herself were all rather short, and that meant they didn't have long clothes lying around. Sano, the only tall member of the Kenshin-gumi, had left his clothes there in the past, but Karou remembered sending it home with him early that day, and she didn't think lending Sano's clothes to Enishi was a good idea anyway. 'Maybe some of the practise uniforms will be long enough,' she thought. Nodding slightly she opened the door to the storage shed and began to rifle through the boxes, looking for a gi and hakama that would fit the tall man.  
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Enishi stared at the closing door in shock. "Matte!" he exclaimed, but Karou didn't appear to hear him. He sighed, running his hands through his filthy white hair and glancing at the steaming bathwater. The bath had been prepared before he got there and was just cool enough not to scald his skin as he slipped into the water. 'She was probably going to take a bath,' he thought.  
  
The water was quickly clouding over as weeks of dirt and blood pulled loose from his body. It reminded him in many ways of his purpose in life. For the longest time it had seemed so simple. His only goal, the only thought that could survive in his head, had been his revenge on the man who had killed his sister, the Hittokiri Battosai. He'd kept that goal in mind with crystal like clarity.   
  
Then rapidly the his purpose had became as muddled as the water. In many ways, the Battosai was like the dirt that clouded the bath water, only he was much, much worse. He had made Enishi doubt himself to the point where he couldn't see his purpose anymore.   
  
Once again Himura Kenshin had ruined his life. Only this time he didn't know how to put it back together again. He glanced at the magnata bundle that was moving on the floor. 'It's all his fault,' he thought again venomously.  
  
A giggle emerged from the bundle, dispelling his anger and leaving his mind more clouded then every. 'Damm you Battosai,' he mentally cursed.  
  
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Karou had finally found a practice gi that would fit Enishi. It had taken a while, but that was okay. It had given Enishi time to get clean. She tapped on the wooden door lightly. "Yukishira-san," she said softly.  
  
She heard the shifting of water from inside. 'He must just be getting out,' she thought. "I brought you some clothes so you don't have to wear those dirty ones anymore," she said.  
  
The door slid open, a squeaky clean Enishi standing with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Arigatou," he said, excepting the clothes then closing the door.   
  
Karou stood in front of the door for a moment, then remembered her food. She had decided that she should try her hand at cooking again and had started some miso soup several minutes before Enishi had arrived. She quickly hurried to the kitchen hoping that her food wasn't going to be inedible.  
  
She clearly remember Enishi's dislike for her food during her stay with him. Inwardly she had known that his opinion shouldn't count in her mind. He had, after all, kidnapped her, but hearing the words come out of his mouth simply echoed the words of others. And she knew that most of them were right. She couldn't cook a decent meal, but at least she tried.  
  
The soup stared back at her without black smoke billowing around it. She smiled in relief and dipped the wooden spoon into the soup, stirring it rapidly before bringing a sample to her mouth. It was spicy and bitter, the same as it always was. She sighed and set the spoon down.  
  
"Still can't cook, I see," Enishi said from the doorway. The baby blue gi he was wearing set off his eyes, causing them to glint brightly, but without the insanity that usually resided in them. He stepped foreword, his bare feet slapping against the ground, reminding Karou that she hadn't gotten any socks for him.  
  
Choosing not to respond to either his comment about her cooking or her lack of thought in his clothes, she decided on a safer more informative response. "Why are you here, Yukishira-san?" she asked pleasantly.  
  
The tall man avoided her gaze, suddenly becoming interested in his finger nails. It was then that Karou noticed the magneta bundle was still cradled in his left arm.   
  
"What's in the bundle?" she asked. He didn't look like he was going to answer her other question, so it was safe to assume that she could question him about something else.  
  
If anything, the question seemed to make him even more nervous. "Its . . . why I came here," he said with some hesitation. His eyes flickered to hers, and he flinched slightly before looking away.  
  
"Well?" Karou prompted. "What is it?" She stepped closer, peering at the bundle closely. The magneta fabric looked strangely familiar. She was sure that she had seen it somewhere before. She reached out to touch the fabric, then screamed in surprised terror as a tiny fist clasped her fingers.  
  
Enishi laughed. "Yeah, that was my response too," he said. Using his free hand, he pulled the fabric away from the top of the bundle.   
  
A tiny face stared intently at Karou's finger before sticking it in it's mouth and sucking on it. "It's a . . . a. . . . .a . . . " Karou stammered. She couldn't identify the small being that was sucking at her forefinger.  
  
"It's a baby," Enishi supplied quickly. "Like I said, I didn't believe it at first either, but then considering what I saw happen . . . . " he added, his voice trailing off.  
  
"A baby?" Karou squeaked. A million things flashed through her mind all at once. "Where did you get it? Is it yours? How old is it? Where's it's mother? Who - " she asked all at once. Before she could finish the last question, Enishi pressed his fingers over her mouth.   
  
"It's not my baby. I believe that his mother is dead. He's about twenty-nine. I got him by accident in Hokkaido a bout a week ago." Enishi sighed and handed the baby to her. "Now he's not my problem. I did my duty and brought him back to you, now I'm leaving."  
  
Karou stared in shock at the baby boy who had her finger in both hands and was gumming at it furiously. "Matte, I don't know what to do with a baby," she shouted as Enishi headed for the door.  
  
"He's not my problem anymore," Enishi said determinedly. He glanced back at her briefly then turned away from her again. "Arigatou," he added as he started to walk away, swaying slightly with exhaustion.  
  
Karou could only stare in shock as he left. She pulled her finger from the baby's mouth, prompting him to scream and try and tug her finger back to his small mouth. Distractedly she kept her hand away from the young baby as she hurried out into the yard.   
  
Enishi couldn't just leave the child here with her. What would people think? Her school was just getting over the bad reputation that Gohei Hiremui had left on it. The scandal of having a baby out of wed lock. . . . well to say the least, the neighbors would gossip, not to mention Sano and Yahiko's reactions. And of course, how would Kenshin respond?  
  
Reaching the yard she looked around, but didn't see Enishi anywhere. 'Oh no, he's already left,' she thought in horror. The baby began to cry louder. She took several steps foreword, and nearly tripped over Enishi's prone form.  
  
He had passed out from exhaustion before he had gotten away from the dojo completely. She let out a deep breath that she hadn't realized she was holding and set the baby down beside Enishi.  
  
His chest was rising and falling with the deepness of sleep causing him to mutter softly about his 'Onee-san'. He looked peaceful while he slept. Peaceful and innocent just like a child. She shook him gently, not wanting to wake him in a foul mood.  
  
His eyes blinked open out of reflex, but he was only one third awake, and groggy. 'He really is exhausted,' she thought as she led him to her room and helped him into her bed. He closed his eyes immediately as she pulled the covers up to his chin and slipped out of the room to check on the baby.  
  
The baby was screaming in the yard, his small face bright red with rage. His tiny hands clenched and shaking, as he screamed at the top of his lungs for any kind of attention. Karou quickly picked him up, and carried him into the main house.   
  
Black smoke was billowing from the kitchen now, and she realized that she miso soup would be spicy, bitter, and burned. "Somehow this is all your fault," she told the child as he stuffed two of his fingers into his mouth and began to suck furiously.   
  
She took the food off of the fire and set it by the window. Holding the small baby against her chest. His body shook against her and he hiccuped. His eyes focusing on hers for a long moment.  
  
Karou stared in surprise at the unique violet-blue eyes that stared back at her. 'They look like Kenshin's eyes,' she thought in wonder. 'Is he perhaps related to Kenshin and Enishi? Is that why Enishi brought him here? Is he Kenshin's . . . . . son?'  
  
Even as she thought it, she knew that it was wrong. If the child was related to Kenshin it wasn't directly. "I guess I should get you cleaned up," she said out loud.   
  
The child hiccuped again and looked at her. "Maa aaaa aaaa," he cried. His tiny hands clasped the front of her kimono and he tried to pull it open. "Maa aaa aaa."  
  
"Are you . . . .hungry. . . perhaps?" Karou suggested. She had never really had much close association with babies, but she remember that when Ayame was still a baby she had always sucked on her thumb and cried when she was hungry.   
  
"What do babies eat?" she asked out loud. "Milk," she answered herself. 'But you don't have any milk. What else could you give him?' she wondered.   
  
She thought about it, but nothing was coming to mind. "Megumi would be falling over with laughter right now. I'll bet that every other woman in Japan knows what you can give a baby to eat," she muttered sullenly. The comment sparked an idea. 'I can ask Megumi what babies can eat,' she thought.  
  
Just as quickly she dismissed the idea. If she weren't at the dojo to make Enishi stay, then he would probably just leave, and she would be stuck with the baby. 'But he can't just leave the child here alone,' she thought. He had proven that earlier when he hadn't just left the baby in the bath house and slipped away.  
  
"I'm going to leave you with Yukishira-san for a little while. I'll ask Megumi-sensai what you can eat. Then," she promised, "I'll be right back." She carried him into her room and left his with Enishi.  
  
Hearing his cries begin almost immediately, she fled the dojo, and headed for the clinic.  
************************  
  
When Enishi woke up he was instantly aware of several things. The first and most important was the small child screaming in his ear. The second was that he was still at the Kamiya Dojo.  
  
'Which means I'll have to explain what happened,' he thought. He shyed away from the thought and stood up. He could still leave while he was crying. He didn't owe him anything else. He didn't owe him anything. They were even now.  
  
The baby cried and he stopped his flight away from the room and walked back over to him. "You're with your own kind now," he said out loud. "You should be happy and laugh."  
  
The baby didn't stop screaming and Enishi found himself picking him up. 'Damm you Himura,' he thought again. In response, the baby screamed louder. 'You've just thrown me into chaos and yet you still think that you have the right to demand food from me.'  
  
Angrily he stalked into the kitchen, noting that the soup had burned sometime since he had last been in the kitchen. 'She's a really bad cook,' he thought not for the first or last time. "How can you put up with that kind of cooking, or rather how could you?" he asked the child.  
  
He prepared some rice water then dipped a corner of a sheet into it. When it was soaked, he pressed the sheet into the child's mouth. The young baby sucked eagerly at the fabric, pulling the moisture from it within moments.  
  
Enishi sighed and extracted the sheet. The baby's face screwed up and he prepared to let out another earsplitting shriek. Then the sheet was back in his mouth with more rice water saturated around it. He drank the liquid greedily.  
  
'She didn't feed him. She just left,' he realized slowly. Holding him in his arms like this, he found it hard to be mad at the small child with the violet blue eyes. It was far easier to be upset with Karou Kamiya. Didn't she know how to care for a child?   
  
He found it hard to believe that she wouldn't at least have known to feed him and change him into clean garments. 'She'll be back,' he reminded himself carefully. He held his anger in cheek. Forcing himself to focus on the starving child in his arms.   
  
On the dependent child in his arms. Without his help he couldn't do anything. He was as helpless as a baby kitten and just as cute. More then that, he was trusted by the small infant.   
  
It was a strange feeling for Enishi. Even before revenge had consumed his thoughts he had never been trusted like this. He had always been the one who trusted his sister, always believing that she knew what was best. Always believing that she was the one that he could always trust. She had in many ways betrayed that trust when she had married Battosai, but even years later, he still sought her approval. He still wanted her to smile for him.   
  
In his arms, the child was looking at him in the same way he imagined he had looked at Tomoe. With complete trust. It was a strange feeling, and not one that he was sure he liked. It made him uncertain and nervous. It made him. . . . . feel like a villain for the crimes that he had committed in his past.  
  
'Don't be a fool!' he commanded himself sharply. 'This "child" is far more guilty then you are. Don't let him make you feel unworthy. He's the unworthy one!' His thoughts were paniced and the panic led to anger.  
  
That was good, he could deal with anger. He could vent his anger. He looked down at the child, a cruel smirk stretching across his face, angry words forming on his lips. They died as the baby gurgled and smiled at him.   
  
His anger couldn't find any outlet with the small child. He heard the gate open and sighed in relief. 'The Kamiya girl, good. I can be mad at her,' he thought happily. He was in quit a state of shock at his inability to get mad at his helpless enemy, and that shock was feeding his anger.  
  
************************  
  
Karou had seen Megumi and asked her question as a taunt. "I'll bet you don't even know what else you could feed a baby besides milk!" she had exclaimed.  
  
The foxy doctor had been unable to keep herself from laughing. "That's easy, rice water, but I bet you didn't know that."  
  
Karou hadn't stayed around to chat. As soon as she heard what she wanted, she raced away from the clinic and back to the Kamiya Dojo.   
  
Once inside she tilted her head to the side, listening for the screams of the baby. Silence filled her senses, and she decided that he must have fallen asleep. 'I'll prepare the water, then go get him,' she thought. She hurried into the kitchen.  
  
Enishi looked up as she came into the room. He had the child on his lap and a dampened sheet in the other. His eyes bore into hers with ruthless fury. "How could you leave him to starve like that?!" he spat hotly.  
  
Karou blinked. "I . . I didn't know what to feed him," she stammered. "I had to ask Megumi-sensai and - "  
  
He smirked at her. "If I hadn't woken up and fed him he'd be dead," he said while raising his eyebrows and letting a very real crazy glint slip into his eyes. He watched horror slid across her face and smiled. 'Good, she believes me,' he thought.   
  
Karou stared at him in shock. "I . . I d-didn't know," she stammered.  
  
"Let me ask you something," Enishi said. He was enjoying the look on her face, but had thought of something that would make her react even worse. "Do you know who this baby is?"  
  
Karou shook her head mutely. She couldn't begin to imagine who the small boy was. She didn't know anyone who had recently had a baby boy, and she really didn't know where the baby had come from either.  
  
"His name is Himura Kenshin," Enishi said. "And you nearly killed him."  
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Author's notes. This was just an idea that I had that couldn't get put away. I know it's weird and not to logical, but I couldn't help it. I have absolutely no doubt that just about everyone will hate this fic, but please don't be too hard on me. I'm suffering from a weird idea invasion, and the only way to win is to submit.   
Turning Kenshin into a baby and having Enishi and Karou raise him, well to say the least that is weird, but I couldn't help it.   
Gomen nasiai to everyone who hates this fic.  
Thanks for reading (no matter how strange and weird)  
Weasel Girl 13 


	2. Exlpanation

Standard disclaimers apply!!  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"His name is Kenshin Himura," Enishi said. "And you nearly killed him." He waited with a smirk on his face for the shock that was bound to come. The raven haired girl with the sapphire blue eyes wouldn't take to kindly to the knowledge that she had nearly killed the red haired rouroni.  
  
Karou started laughing. "Oh yeah, like I'm going to believe that!" she exclaimed. "And I hardly think that I nearly killed him, whoever he is. It takes a lot longer to die of starvation then a half an hour. It's not like I was gone for that long. And another thing, if he was in danger of dying, then that meant that you hadn't been taking care of him, and - "  
  
Enishi's face acquired a sour expression as she was talking. What she was saying was true, but he wanted to make someone suffer so he had told a couple little white lies. But then the part about Kenshin being a baby was true.  
  
He glanced at the fuzzy haired baby who was gurgling contentedly in his arms. "This is Himura the Battousai. . . . ." he said after a moment. "I saw him get turned into a child with my own eyes."  
  
"Really?" Karou asked skeptically. "Kenshin's in Hokkaido delivering some medicine for a doctor friend of Dr. Gensai's. He won't be back for a couple - "  
  
"Dammit! This is Kenshin Himura! I - I well. . . . " he fell silent, seething with frustration.   
  
"If it's Kenshin, then prove it," Karou said with a raised eyebrow. There was no way that he would be able to prove something like that, so she was just humoring him. She was trying to get him to realize that she wasn't buying into his story.  
  
In response, the white haired man ignored her and became very interested in bouncing the fuzzy, red haired baby on his knee.   
  
Karou sighed. "There, see - you can't prove it. I don't know what kind of game that you're playing at, but it's awfully low for you to come here and try and pass that off as Kenshin. I'd believe you more if you had told me it was Kenshin's son," she added.   
  
"Even if that would break your wee little heart?" Enishi demanded. "If I told you that this was Kenshin's son, then what?" He stood up abruptly, shocking the baby into tears and ear splitting wails. "Would you take care of him until Kenshin arrived? Would you look after him knowing that Kenshin had slept with another woman?!"   
  
"Who is that child?" Karou demanded. She moved closer, and craned her head up to look at him.  
  
Enishi stepped closer to her, so that the baby was pressed between them. "Tell me this," he spat venomously. His temper, his rage, non of it had been quelled. If anything, Karou's disbelief at his claim was fueling it into the unthinking rage that he had when he fought against Himura a little over a year ago.  
  
That really surprised him. That he could get that upset about a simple conversation that was barely lasting fifteen minutes. Before, his rage had been building for years to reach that point. The fact that he was nearly as upset now. . . . . .it was unthinkable.  
  
"Tell me this," he repeated in a forced calm voice. He took several steps away from her and turned his back, shifting his gaze to the helpless on of his brother-in-law. "What do you see when you look at this child? Are you so blind as to not notice that it is the Hittokiri Battousai?"  
  
Karou froze. Something in his tone of voice. Something in the way he had spat the first words alerted her to the rage boiling beneath his surface. "Sorr-" she began to say, but checked herself. She couldn't be sorry for saying what she felt was true. She couldn't be sorry for turning his sharpened words away from her.  
  
"Let me see the child," she said. She would look at it carefully and try and keep an open mind about it's identity, no matter how strange it might be.  
  
"No," Enishi said sharply. "I'm taking him with me." He was cradling the baby to his chest lovingly, and rocking him gently to put him to sleep.  
  
His words finally produced the sharp gasp that he had been waiting for earlier. "Why would you do something like that?" she whispered. "You don't strike me as the type who would want a family of any sort. . . . . . . . and if you truly believe that the baby is Kenshin, then . . . . . . why?"  
  
"That's what I keep asking myself," Enishi muttered. "I. . . . . well, I just couldn't kill him or let him die. . . . no honor, or something like that. . . .But I thought I could bring him here and just leave him with you."  
  
Karou walked around him, trying to pry his thoughts from his face. His eyes were tightly closed and he was holding the baby in a fierce embrace. "Don't look at me. . . .look at Kenshin," Enishi said softly.  
  
"It it's Kenshin - " Karou whispered. Somehow, even with no proof or explanation his belief was starting to rub off on her. She was starting to believe that it was indeed Kenshin Himura.  
  
"Oh, it is Kenshin. Why can't you believe me?" Enishi demanded. He opened his eyes, gazing at her intently.  
  
Karou took a deep breath and let it out. "Because Kenshin is twenty-nine years old, not a little under a year."  
  
"Is that your only reason?" Enishi asked.  
  
"Well. . . . yeah. Isn't it a good one?" she asked in return. It seemed logical that the baby couldn't be Kenshin. It had to be true, didn't it?"  
  
"In that case, let me explain what happened," Enishi said. 'As if saying it will make it more believable. . . .' he thought. The telling of the story would give him something better to do then sulk.  
  
Karou nodded. "Let's go into the sitting room though. It's not very comfortable in here." She took his arm and led him out of the kitchen, noting that her soup, which she had put by the window, was getting wet in the rainstorm that had sprang up.  
  
Enishi sat down, still cradling Kenshin to his chest. Karou sat down across from him. Both of them spent several moments staring in silence at each other before Kenshin started to giggle.   
  
"It all started in Hokkaido," Enishi began abruptly. "I was still running from the police, trying to sort my life out after what you did to me - "  
  
"What I did?!" Karou interrupted almost immediately. "You're the one who kidnapped me!"  
  
Enishi waved off her comments, getting his hand snagged by Kenshin. "I meant all of you. Making me. . . . . . just the fight in general and everything that was said. I never really could decided what. . . . . and I still haven't. . . . . what to make of that information."  
  
"Anyways, I happened to spot Himura, so I followed him. In hindsight, I should have just let him go! I didn't have a weapon or even a plan for attack. I was just following him to see how happy he was . . . . . " Enishi paused, in reflection. "And I wasn't even that upset when I realized that he was happy!"  
  
"After a couple of hours I realized that he had spotted me. . . I'm kind of noticeable in that sense. . . ." Enishi paused again. "Dammit, I'm not good at telling stories!"  
  
"You're doing fine," Karou said.   
  
"No. . . Look, the long and short of the situation is this. As I was leaving, some Shinto priest popped up out of nowhere, (at least I think he was a Shinto priest. . )" Enishi glanced down at Kenshin. "He shouted, "Hittokiri Battousai! This it the last time you will take an innocent's life!" Hearing his name being called, I turned back to see an old man wearing robes."  
  
"He had a long staff in his hands and Kenshin had that stupid look on his face that he gets when he's trying to make people believe he's innocent. But anyway, the priest wasn't buying it. "I know that my old bones are no match for your speed, but there is no way that you will escape!" the priest yelled. Then his staff glowed bright white light. When the light cleared, Kenshin looked only to be about five."  
  
Enishi took another deep breath. "He looked over at me, and then suddenly he was a baby. The priest cackled evily. I hurried over and picked him up. I didn't really know what I was going to do. The priest looked furious, and I ran."  
  
"You ran away from a fight?" Karou asked.  
  
"Without my sword and against someone who could turn people into children at will.. . . . .hell yeah! What good would it do me to be a child?" he scoffed.   
  
Then rapidly he changed gears. "Anyway, I guess I panicked, but it took a couple of weeks before I got here and when I did. . . . . ." His voice trailed off and he looked at her pleadingly. "I. . . . I can't help it, but I don't want to leave him here. I thought that if I left quickly I'd be able to forget about how he looks, but it isn't working. I can't do it."  
  
"How he looks?" Karou repeated.  
  
"I swear," Enishi said thickly. "It's just how I used to look at my sister, and now he's looking at me like that and I don't know what to do!" He raised his hand to his face and using the sleeve of his practice gi, he wiped some tears from his face.  
  
Karou didn't say anything for several moments. "I think that you're still weary from your travels. You didn't rest at all, did you?"  
  
Enishi shook his head. "No, I wanted to get here and be gone before it was too late," he murmured.  
  
Karou nodded. "Come on," she said, standing up and heading over towards him. "You need to get some sleep. I'll take care of Kenshin in the meantime."  
  
"Then you believer me?" he asked. He stood as she tugged on his arm to make him stand.  
  
"Of course. I have to trust you on this one, although I do have one question if you don't mind." She paused and waited for him to nod his head. "Does he remember anything?"  
  
Enishi shook his head. "I don't know. Like I said, I ran before any questions could be asked at all."  
  
"Right," Karou said, nodding her head slightly. "I guess only time will tell." She opened the door to her bedroom and ushered Enishi inside.  
  
He fell into the futon, his eyes closing in sleep before his head even hit the pillow. Karou pulled the blankets up around him and slipped out the door.  
  
It was time to pay Megumi another visit. It was possible that the woman doctor would be able to help get Kenshin back to his proper age.  
  
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A/notes  
  
So there you have it! Kenshin trusts Enishi, so he feels compelled to protect him. A Shinto priest turned Kenshin into a baby to make it easier to defeat him, and I sure hope that it's plausible enough for everyone.  
  
Thank-you for the pointers on Enishi's last name. Yukishiro, correct? I didn't get a chance to use it in this chapter, but it will be in the next one for sure.   
Oh yeah, and please read and review!  
Thanks for reading,   
Kissa-chan 


	3. Yahiko and Megumi

Standard disclaimers apply **********************************************  
  
"Megumi, I think that I need your help," she said carefully. It wasn't an easy thing to admit that she needed the beautiful woman doctor's help. In fact, Karou spent a lot of her time trying to be better then her. Trying to outdo her at everything.  
  
Megumi Takani glanced up at the takuni girl as she stepped through the doors to the clinic. She had been by earlier hollering a question about feeding babies. Judging by the moving bundle in her arms, she hadn't just been flinging a random question at the doctor.  
  
Usually Megumi would have relished the chance to tease Karou about needing her help, but something on the younger woman's stressed face told her that this was a semi-emergency and all taunts would have to wait.  
  
"What is it?" Megumi asked as she moved foreword to examine the bundle. She had an idea about what was going on, but she was unusually far off.  
  
'Someone abandoned that child and Karou happened to find it,' Megumi was thinking.  
  
Karou took a deep breath and started to speak. "I. . . . well, you see this is. . . .Uhmmmm. . . . . " and her voice trailed off.  
  
It didn't seem right just to exclaim that the child was Kenshin. In fact, if she did that she would probably be kicked out of the clinic. 'I'll have to phrase this carefully . . . . "she thought.  
  
"You trust me, right?" she asked.  
  
Megumi's eyes narrowed in suspicion.  
  
"And you know that I would never play with my feelings for Kenshin again, right?" Karou continued.  
  
Once again Megumi nodded.  
  
"Okay, then I have to tell you something, but you have to believe me. I didn't believe at first, but," Karou said while pulling the white blanket back from Kenshin's face. She had left the remains of his trademark magenta gi back at the dojo.  
  
Megumi's hand flew to her mouth before Karou could say anything. "Ken-san!" she exclaimed and plucked the child from Karou's arms effortlessly.  
  
Karou reached for him, but restrained herself. "Yes, how did you know?" she asked. "I didn't believe him when he said that the child was Kenshin, but - "  
  
Megumi cut her off abruptly. "This is not Ken-san," she said firmly.  
  
Karou stared in confusion. "But you just said. . ." she protested.  
  
"I'm assuming that this is Ken-san's child. I'm also assuming that you used a different doctor then me and I'm extremely disappointed that you didn't tell me you were expecting." Megumi flipped her long black hair behind her shoulder.  
  
"Wait, that's not right at all!" Karou exclaimed. "I never even did THAT with Kenshin! And now it's impossible because he's only a couple of month's old!" She had started out in dignified rage, but by the end of her sentence she was on the verge of tears.  
  
Megumi frowned. Karou seemed convinced that the child was Kenshin. She had also mentioned that she hadn't believed someone at first.  
  
"That was a mean joke for Sano to pull," Megumi announced. "He's just using you. Ken-san's still in Hokkaido - he's not due back until Friday. Is he still at the dojo?"  
  
Karou blinked, trying to decide what Sano had to do with anything. "I - well yes, he's sleeping in my room. . ." she murmured, thinking about Enishi.  
  
Megumi shook her head. "Well, he really got you good this time," she announced. She presumed that Sano was playing a joke on Karou.  
  
Yahiko waved bye to Tsubame as he hurried towards the dojo. It was getting late and he had just gotten off work.  
  
The orange glow of the setting sun caused him to squint as her arrived back at the dojo. The rain had stopped several minutes before he had gotten off work, so in spite of muddy saddles, he was fairly clean.  
  
Entering the dojo, he started for the kitchens, trying to think up a snide remark to make on the burnt or at least tasteless condition the food was bound to be in.  
  
There was a pot of burnt miso soup sitting on the windowsill. Yahiko stared at it with a slightly perplexed expression on his face. Karou was a bad cook, but she always severed her meals hot, and she did know enough not to leave them on the windowsill during a rainstorm.  
  
On the table he noticed a bowl of rice water and a saturated sheet. "Nani?" he muttered. None of this was making any sense.  
  
He left the kitchen, his feet barely making a sound on the wooden floors. Quietly he began to search for Karou without success.  
  
Passing her door for the third time, he realized that it was partially opened. "Karou?" he questioned, pushing the door open slightly.  
  
The bulge in the middle of the bed confirmed his assumption. 'So ugly decided to sleep in. . .' he thought with a smirk. 'I wonder if she's feeling well,' he had the decency to think as he snuck silently up to the sleeping figure and prepared to surprise her.  
  
Author's notes,  
  
Well, I started running out of time to finish this chapter off, so it's shorter then usual. However, let me know what you think -  
  
Should Yahiko  
  
Realize that it's Enishi Try and scare Enishi senseless thinking that it's Karou?  
  
I'll try and update again soon. In the meantime, please read and review!  
  
Thanks- for reading, Kissa-chan 


	4. Reasons

Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
Yahiko hesitated. It wasn't usual for Karou to be sleeping in the middle of the day. In fact, it was really strange. 'Maybe she's sick,' he thought. He stopped creeping up to the bed.  
  
He knew that it wasn't nice and polite to scar people while they were sleeping, but if Karou was sick . . . . . .She would need to see Megumi and have herself examined. There might be something wrong with her that might need to be attended to immediately. If she didn't get looked at, then there was a chance that she would die, right?  
  
With those types of thoughts backing him up, Yahiko reached the next conclusion. If he had to wake Karou up, then he might as well scar her at the same time. It would be fun to see how loud she screamed when he pulled back her covers and -   
  
A sudden image of Karou waking up and smashing her wooden sword into his head over and over halted that thought for a moment. He silently crept around her sleeping mat and made sure that she didn't have any weapons in reach.  
  
Then he reached foreword, fingers wiggling with anticipation at the scare he was about to give Karou. They closed around the top of the blanket. Grasping it lightly, he took a deep breath and prepared to scream.  
  
Then, with his hold on the blankets tightening, he tugged back the blankets and stopped shock still.  
  
Lying on his side, his lips half parted and his chest rising and falling regularly, was Enishi Yukishiro. He sifted slightly, grasping for the covers.  
  
The scream that Yahiko was preparing to scare Karou with blasted from Yahiko's mouth. It had been the last thing he would have ever suspected. If someone had told him that Enishi was sleeping in Karou's bed he wouldn't have believed it, but here was the proof and there was nothing anyone could say or do to change the facts.  
  
The white haired man's eyes snapped open with the scream. For a second he blinked sleepily. "You've gotten louder," he murmured, reaching his arms out to hold Kenshin and keep him quiet.  
  
There was no one there. He shot to a sitting position, a wild expression on his face and a mad glint in his turquoise eyes.   
  
Scanning the room, he saw the paper white expression of fear on Yahiko's face. The boy was reaching for his shinai; his hand trembling.  
  
Enishi leapt out of the bed. "Where is he!" he snarled, reaching for his sword only to find it missing. He dropped his hand to the side and stalked towards Yahiko angrily. His entire body was tensed, like a spring, ready to pounce on Yahiko and beat him into oblivion is anything had happened to the child he was taking care of.  
  
"Who are you talking about?" Yahiko asked. His voice was harsh and frightened. He had drawn his shinai and was holding it tightly; his knuckles white. His face, which had drained of blood the moment Enishi opened his eyes, was also a sickly white. His eyes were reflecting the mad glint in the other man's eyes.  
  
He knew who Enishi was looking for, but he needed to stall time to try and get away. He needed to find a way to escape and warn everyone that Yukishiro was back.  
  
He watched as the white haired man stopped stalking foreword. "I'm referring to Himura, of course," he said, his voice hot and angry.  
  
"You'll never find him!" Yahiko snapped. He had spotted his escape route. Without waiting to hear Enishi's response, he dove out the open window and rolled to his feet before taking off at a dead sprint.  
  
Enishi had a moment of stunned anger. He had come to the Kamiya Dojo in the hopes of leaving Kenshin and his past behind, but now. . . . . . . . now that it was time to leave. . .. . . .  
  
He didn't want to. He didn't want to forget the trusting look on Himura's face. He didn't want to disappoint his former enemy by abandoning him. The child trusted him, needed him, and loved him.   
  
Kenshin obviously didn't remember anything about his past, which had thrown Enishi off at first. Looking at the red haired baby had stirred something in him. It had made him want to be a good person so the baby would have a good role model.  
  
He couldn't abandon the child now. He wasn't going to leave Tokyo without Kenshin. Realizing that made him angry. How dare the Kamiya girl hide Kenshin away from him.  
  
"You'll never find him," Yahiko's words echoed in his head, causing him to smile grimly. "Oh, but I will," he said softly. "And your going to show me where he is, or you will die."  
  
He leapt out the window and tore off after Yahiko. He was still exhausted, so keeping up with the boy was harder then it should have been. Still, he was gaining rapidly, so there was no reason to complain.  
  
It was only a matter of time before he caught the spiky haired boy and made him talk.  
  
************************  
  
Megumi and Karou were walking back to the dojo. The fox woman still didn't believe what Karou had told her. She was still determined that Sano was at the dojo, playing a mean trick on her. She was also determined to make the rooster pay for his joke.  
  
Karou had given up on trying to convince her. When they got to the dojo, she was planning on showing Megumi her white haired visitor and explaining why he was there. Then, after Enishi woke up, she was going to ask him to explain what had happened to the doctor so they could all work together to get Kenshin back to his normal age.  
  
That was what she really wanted, wasn't it? She wanted Kenshin to be his proper age so that she could marry him because she loved him, right? Looking at the child, who was chewing on his tiny fist, made her uncertain for the first time in a long time about her feelings for Kenshin.  
  
She had loved him from the beginning, hadn't she? She had been sad when he had left in the middle of the night without saying good-bye or even telling her his name. Then he had returned just in time to save her life.  
  
When he had come through the door, her heart had fluttered rapidly in her chest. It had pleased her that he had come back for her. She had been so happy, but at the same time, fear tightened her chest. She didn't want him to be hurt. She had tried to warn him away, but he had stayed.  
  
He had fought, and he had won. Watching him fight caught her breath in her throat. He was so fast. Always three steps ahead of everyone else, he had stolen her heart, hadn't he?  
  
Learning that he was the Hittokiri Battousai had saddened her. She didn't want to think that he was capable of murder. She wanted him to stay as soon as she learned who he was. She wanted to help him heal the wounds that were on his heart, burdens that were visible to the loving eyes of a woman. She wanted to nurture him, but did she love him and want to share her life with him?  
  
Looking at Kenshin, happily kicking his legs, she started to cry.  
  
Megumi noticed and turned to look at her. "Karou?" she questioned. The raven haired girl looked so broken. "What's wrong?"  
  
Karou looked up, sapphire blue eyes brimming with tears. "I don't think that I want him to return to normal," she sobbed. "I've always wanted to make him happy. Not just for a moment, but for every moment. I wanted to make him forget about the Bakumatsu, and now. . . . . ." She helplessly held the baby out towards Megumi.  
  
"And now - "  
  
"Karou! Megumi!" Yahiko shouted. "We gotta warn Kenshin! Enishi. . . . he's at the dojo!" he gasped.  
  
Megumi's hand flew to her mouth. "I'll go fetch the police!" she exclaimed. She turned and started running back to the main part of town.  
  
"Come on, Karou!" Yahiko shouted, grabbing her hand and starting to run. He was pulling her along after him, but Karou didn't want to go.   
  
She stopped following him and looked back towards the dojo, spotting Enishi racing after them.  
  
"Wait, Megumi!" she shouted, but the doctor was some distance ahead of her and Yahiko already. Karou turned to her apprentice. "Yahiko, go get Megumi. Tell her that Enishi is my guest. Don't get the police. Do you understand?"  
  
"No!" Yahiko exclaimed. Karou had started spouting the most ridiculous nonsense that he had ever heard. There was no reason for Enishi to be their guest.  
  
"Enishi found Kenshin injured and brought him back to the dojo. Go get Megumi! Hurry!" she shouted and gave him a push in the retreating doctor's direction.  
  
By that time, Enishi had arrived. He stopped, noting that she wasn't running, and noticing that she was holding Kenshin.  
  
"Kamiya," he said tightly. He was still furious that she had double crossed him, but he couldn't force his body to move rapidly with his target, Kenshin, right in front of him.  
  
"Yukishiro-san," Karou said politely. "Would you please go back to the dojo and wait. I didn't get a chance to explain to anyone why you are staying at the dojo."  
  
"They probably won't believe you," Enishi said. "I'm not leaving Kenshin out of my sight though, so if you're going anywhere, I'm going with you."  
  
"Why?" Karou asked. "I thought that you hated Kenshin." She had to understand why Enishi's feelings for the boy had changed. She had to know because her own feelings were changing too.  
  
"I don't. I hate the Battousai," Enishi said.  
  
"And I love the Rouroni," Karou said. "So why don't I want Kenshin to get back to his usual self?"  
  
Enishi looked at her strangely. "I've actually decided something about that. I won't let you try and turn him back to his normal age. I want to - " he clicked his mouth shut as the other two returned with Sanosuke Sagara.  
  
"Yahiko says that you invited Enishi to be your guest. I don't buy that for a second. Jo-chan, get over here. I can take this guy on," Sano said.  
  
Megumi had ran into him and breathlessly explained what was happening with Enishi. Then Yahiko had arrived and relayed the message.   
  
Sano had taken no time. He had headed straight back towards the dojo and Karou and Enishi. He had never been the type to wait for conversations before a battle. He didn't need an explanation for Enishi's presence; he was an enemy who was hell bent on destroying Kenshin after all. All he had to do was make sure that the white haired man didn't get up from the upcoming fight.  
  
Yahiko moved Karou to the side, and then Sano attacked.  
  
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Author's notes;  
  
Thanks for the suggestions with Yahiko. I hope it turned out satisfactory.  
  
I've also decided that this is going to be and Enishi and Karou fic. Kenshin isn't going to return to his proper age, (sorry to everyone who wanted that. . . . )  
  
Anyway, please review me. I love to hear everyone's feed back.  
  
Thanks for reading,  
  
Kissa-chan 


	5. Sano Vs Enishi

Standard disclaimers apply  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Karou was having a hard time coping with her feelings. She was still so uncertain about what she wanted to happen. When Enishi said that he wouldn't let her even attempt to return Kenshin to his true age, she had felt a stab of relief. She had been happy. Shouldn't she have felt distress at his words?  
  
"Come on, Sano!" Yahiko shouted encouragingly to the tall ex-gangster. He had a firm grip on Karou's arms and was watching the fight with a rapt expression mixed evenly with worry.  
  
Sano hadn't wasted any time in attacking the white haired man. The fact that Enishi was unarmed only even the playing field in his mind because he didn't have any weapons other then his fists either.  
  
Karou's sapphire blue eyes swept up from the ground. She had been gazing at it absently while trying to sort out her feelings. The fight had just begun.  
  
"Futae no kiwami!" Sano shouted out the name of his most destructive technique as he charged foreword, the ends of his red headband trailing behind him and his shirt blowing back.  
  
Enishi twisted out of the way with ease, or so it seemed. He didn't move fast enough. He barely cleared Sano's punch's range. The devastating shot grazed his left cheek, drawing blood and starting to discolor the skin.  
  
Everyone seemed surprised that it had connected. Sano didn't let waste a second though. If he was going to win the fight, he realized that he was going to have to press any advantage he got. And having Enishi take a Futae no Kiwami to the face was definitely an advantage.  
  
In less then the space of a minute he had sent a powerful kick straight at Enishi's head.  
  
Enishi caught the kick and swept Sano's supporting foot out from under him. As the brown haired fighter toppled to the ground he continued his attack by going to a strike to the head.  
  
Sano's stamina hadn't been affected by the attack at all. The only thing that had happened was he lost his footing. He still had his breath and wits about him. He bunched his legs together and kicked up just as Enishi came into range.  
  
Enishi staggered backwards, blood trailing from his mouth. He turned his head slightly to the side, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the dirt road they were fighting on.   
  
Karou stared at him. Something was wrong. If he could go toe to toe with Kenshin at the height of his strength and power, then he should have been more then a match for Sano. The fight should have ended already.  
  
Sano had been training, but as far as Karou knew, he hadn't gotten that much better yet. He was still the same as he had always been, with slight improvements in technique only.  
  
As for Enishi, she didn't know what he had been doing since his fight with Kenshin and escape from the police. In fact, all that she knew was that he had been in Hokkaido when the Shinto priest had turned Kenshin into a baby.  
  
Her eyes widened. That would mean that he was still recovering from his long trek to Tokyo. When he had arrived he had even collapsed from exhaustion. He wasn't in any condition to fight. His body was still trying to send him the signal for sleep. Just because he was ignoring it didn't mean that he wasn't feeling it. He had to fight, but his body wasn't ready.  
  
Meanwhile, during the fight, Sano had landed a series of powerful punches along Enishi's chest. The white haired man didn't seem to want to continue the fight. He didn't look capable of winning.  
  
Then he straightened up, wiping blood from his mouth. He raised his hand and motioned for Sano to attack again.  
  
Sano was only happy to comply. He shot foreword and smashed his fist into Enishi's face. This time Enishi hadn't even bothered to attempt to dodge. He smashed his own fist straight into Sano's throat even as the ex-gangsters punch connected with his face.   
  
Sano sprang back, coughing blood and trying to get air through his suddenly bruised throat. "Cheep shot," he rasped.  
  
"I don't give a damm how you want me to fight," Enishi said. His voice sounded tired and he kept glancing at Karou.  
  
"Leave her out of this!" Sano raged. He raised his fist and charged. "Futae no Kiwami!" he shouted, pouring all of his anger into the punch. Even as he approached his target, he knew that this was his most powerful attack ever.  
  
From the sidelines, Yahiko's grip on Karou's arms faded. "He's actually doing it. He's winning against Yukishiro!" Yahiko exclaimed in amazement. "Just wait until I tell Kenshin."  
  
"Amazing," Megumi commented. She was watching Sano fight with awe carefully concealed on his face. "And I won't even have to bandage him up that much," she added.  
  
Karou was watching Sano charge in with victory written on his face. Enishi, she noticed, also had victory written on his face.   
  
No matter who won, she was going to be bandaging one of them up. She didn't want either of them to win, but she didn't want either to lose. She had to do something to stop them, but nothing but fuzzy static was frizzing through his overloaded mind.  
  
In her arms, Kenshin cooed happily, clearing her thoughts. If Kenshin were in a fight with a friend or at least guest, he wouldn't attack if she placed herself between him and his opponent.   
  
Although she wasn't a hundred percent certain that it was a good idea to do during a fight with Sano, she launched herself foreword. Her sandals slipping in the loosed gravel as she threw one arm to the side.  
  
"Stop!" she shouted. She had herself facing Enishi, and watched his eyes widen more then she thought was possible.   
  
Before she had even come to a complete stop herself, Enishi had pushed Karou's shoulder, spinning her behind him.  
  
Sano's Futae no Kiwami hit him in the middle of the back. He dropped to his knees, grunting in pain. "Are you okay?" he asked her, his teeth clenched to keep from crying out in pain.  
  
Karou stared accusingly at Sano, who had a look of shock combined with disbelief. "Why didn't you stop!" she exclaimed.  
  
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Sano shot back. "You don't just leap into the middle of a fight like that. . . . . .What if I had hit you?" He didn't sound accusing, just shocked.   
  
Karou ignored him and knelt down beside Enishi, who had dropped to his knees. "Are you okay?" she asked.  
  
"Sano, you almost hit Karou!" Yahiko exclaimed behind her.  
  
"I . . . . . I couldn't stop. I was too close to her. . . . ." Sano sank to his knees, shock still plastered across his face. "If Yukishiro hadn't . . . . . " he started to say, but his words trailed off. They all knew just how strong his punch was against rocks; it would have been devastating against Karou's back.  
  
Karou's eyes flickered up to him. Enishi hadn't answered her question. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily, but still conscious. "It's okay, Sano. Just help me get Enishi back to the dojo, okay?"   
  
"So he's really a guest," Sano managed to say with a weak smile. He stood up and help Enishi stand.  
  
Karou got up on her own and wrapped one arm around Enishi's waist to help support him. "Come on, Yahiko," she called over her shoulder as they headed towards the dojo.  
  
Yahiko glanced at Megumi, who still looked more then a little shocked at the battles outcome. "You coming?" he asked.  
  
The doctor nodded. "Hai, but first I'm going to get my medical kit from the clinic. I. . . . I'll have to treat Yukishiro. . . . ." she sounded reluctant, but determined at the same time.   
  
She turned away from Yahiko and started walking back to the clinic, her raised sandals crunching in the gravel. If Enishi was really a guest, then did that mean Kenshin was really the small baby that Karou was holding so protectively?  
  
It was hard to imagine. She couldn't come up with one rationale idea how the strong red haired swordsman could be turned into a child. It didn't make sense, but faced with Karou's belief and the friendly, or at least what she was assuming to be friendly, presence of Yukishiro, she was trying to comprehend the facts.  
  
If it were true, she didn't know what she would do. There was nothing she had learned in all her years of medicine that came close to suggesting age regression was even possible. It shouldn't be possible, and yet. . . . maybe. . . . just maybe it was.  
  
Yahiko tugged at her sleeve. "I decided to tag along with you," he said, not looking at her.   
  
They walked in silence for a number of seconds before Yahiko spoke. "Who's that baby?" he asked. "The one that Karou was holding. Do you think that it's hers and Enishi's?"   
  
Megumi almost stopped walking. What he was saying was close to what she had initially thought. She turned her thoughts over in her mind for several moments before she answered. "I thought that it was Karou's and Kenshin's baby at first, but Karou claims that it is Kenshin."  
  
She waited for Yahiko's reaction to her words.   
  
He was slow in answering, but when he did, there was confidence in his voice. "It can't be Kenshin. If it were, don't you think Yukishiro would be attacking him?"  
  
Megumi almost laughed. "Don't you mean, "Kenshin's older then that and there's no way that anyone can be turned back into a baby'" she challenged. Yahiko had brought up a point that she hadn't even thought about yet.  
  
Yahiko glanced over at her. "Yeah, but I figure that is understood. I mean, you're a doctor, right? So you tell me if it's possible? I. . . . I don't think it is."  
  
"It's not." Megumi's voice held a certain note, but as the words left her mouth, she doubted them. "Not that I know of anyway," she amended both for her benefit and Yahiko's.  
  
By that time they had reached the clinic. Opening the door and walking inside, she turned to Yahiko. "After we take care of Yukishiro, we can talk to Karou about it. Then we'll know for sure."  
  
************************  
  
Author's notes;  
  
Wow! That sure took me a long time to write. I just don't have as much time available lately. I'm hoping to finish all of my fics before it becomes to much to have them all going. \_/ Of course, I'll just start new ones then, so the point is slightly moot.   
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate your comments.   
  
Thanks for reading,  
  
Kissa-chan 


	6. Conflicting thoughts

Standard disclaimers apply  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Megumi and Yahiko returned to the Kamiya dojo with all the proper equipment to treating all of Enishi's injuries.   
  
By the time they arrived, Karou had put Enishi back in her bed with Sano's help. He had closed his eyes and fallen asleep immediately. His breathing was still coming irregularly, and his face was twisted mildly with pain every time he drew breath in.  
  
Karou was kneeling beside her bed, watching him sleep. In her arms, Kenshin was starting to get fussy again. He was waving his tiny fists in rage and wailing intermittently. Every time he started to wail, Karou bounced him lightly until he quieted, but he was getting fussier now.  
  
Megumi knocked on the door before entering.   
  
Karou glanced up at her, debating if she should ask her for advice or not. Memories of Kenshin's earlier ear splitting wails, encouraged her to ask. "He's getting - "  
  
"That's because he smell," Megumi interrupted before she had even finished speaking. "I have a patient to attend to. Please take him out of the room and give him a bath." She paused for a moment and then added, "Send Sano in to help me."  
  
Karou stood up. "Hai," she agreed. She glanced at Enishi as she left the room. He still looked in pain, but now that Megumi was there to take care of him she was less worried about him.  
  
She stepped into the hall, cradling Kenshin close to her chest.  
  
"Phew! You really stink today, Busu," Yahiko muttered, raising his sleeve to cover his nose.  
  
"It's not me, it's Kenshin. I think he need to be changed," Karou said. She didn't even loose her temper at his insult. That was more then enough proof to both herself and Yahiko that it had been too long of a day.  
  
Yahiko seemed to be turning the possibility of Kenshin being a baby around in his mind. He had a look of pure concentration on his face, a look that made Karou reluctant, but not unwilling to disrupt him.  
  
"Yahiko, either get out of my way, or go prepare a bath for Kenshin," she ordered crossly.   
  
He plastered himself to the wall, still thinking. Her words didn't seem to have phased him at all. Shaking her head, she slipped past him and tracked Sano down.   
  
He was in the kitchen, helping himself to a bowl of tasteless miso soup that also happened to be burned. He looked as easy going as every, but Karou could tell from the tension in his manner that he was still worried about Enishi.  
  
It was one thing for an honorable fighter like Sano to seriously injure his opponent in a fair fight. It was quite another when he accidentally punched someone in the back after nearly killing a woman.   
  
"How does it taste?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.  
  
"Disgusting. . . . as usual," Sano responded, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.  
  
"Megumi wants you to help her in the bedroom," Karou said.  
  
"Really?!" Sano said, raising one eyebrow in mock astonishment. "I wasn't under the impression that she was that bold. It takes a certain amount of class for a woman to ask a man to join her - "  
  
Karou frowned at him. "You know what I mean," she told him. "Go help her take care of Enishi. I'll take care of Kenshin."   
  
She didn't wait until he responded. Instead, she headed out the door and into the bathhouse.   
  
Inside, she drew a bath, spending several minutes listening to the water fill the tub before she went outside and stoked up the fire.   
  
Kenshin's legs were pumping enthusiastically at thin air when she came back in. She had decided to leave him inside so he wouldn't get burned by the sparking fire, or roll away when she wasn't watching. Of course, leaving him unattended inside was a mistake too.   
  
He had managed to catch hold of the rack she had the towels on and pull them all on top of him. At the moment, she imagined he was having a hard time breathing.  
  
Smiling in spite of the worry she felt for him, she pulled the towels off of him. Immediately she wrinkled her nose. Carrying Kenshin around, she had gotten used to the foul smell coming off of him. Now that she had several moments of fresh air, his scent was overwhelming her.  
  
Putting one hand over her nose, she started to untwist him from his old magenta robe that Enishi had wrapped him in. It was covered in dirt and shit and after just one look at it, Karou vowed to have it burned. There was no salvaging it anymore, and without Kenshin whining about keeping it, there was no way that she would even hesitate.  
  
Kenshin started to giggle as she tried to clean his bottom. She picked up one of his legs so she could clean him all the way, but he twisted almost immediately so that he was on his side.  
  
She tried to turn him around, but he started kicking happily again, getting his heels soiled before attempting to eat his feet.  
  
Karou pulled his feet back. "No, Kenshin," she said sternly, and completely in vain. He gurgled happily and started to suck on his fist before, in a fit of giggles, he kicked her in the face.  
  
Finally she finished cleaning his butt and picked him up only to have her hair pulled. She twisted her head, trying to get his fingers out of her hair without luck. "Come on, let's just put you in the bath and then go check on Enishi."  
  
She pried his fingers from her hair and dipped him gently into the water. Immediately his face squashed together and he let out a tremendous wail. His eyes were squinted shut and he looked in pained fury.  
  
She drew him from the water, noting that his white baby skin was now red and blotchy. Almost as angry looking as his face was.   
  
She sighed as she realized the water was too hot for him. Karou was rather fond of steamy hot bathes, the kind that left your skin red and clean. Apparently, Kenshin was fond of lukewarm bathes.   
  
She wrapped him up in a towel and carried him into the kitchen, but first she put the fire out and opened all the windows so she could cool the water down for him. She made a pile of blankets and set him up by the window.  
  
  
  
Then she started on supper, chopping up an assortment of vegetables and some tofu. Several times during the cooking process, Yahiko came in. He always cast a strange look at Kenshin before he left with whatever he came for.  
  
On the sixth time that he came through, Karou stopped him. "What's wrong?" she demanded.  
  
For several seconds Yahiko didn't respond. Then he asked his own question. "That's really Kenshin, isn't it?" he asked. He had overhead Enishi explaining it to Megumi and Sano.  
  
Karou nodded. "Aa," she said.   
  
"But we'll get him back to normal, right?" Yahiko said. "I mean, we'll find that Shinto priest and make him turn - "  
  
Karou was shaking her head. "I'm not sure," she said. "Enishi wants to keep him like he- "  
  
"So what!" Yahiko exclaimed. "He's only saying that because he wants Kenshin to be helpless and weak!" His eyes were wide with the need for his words to be true. He had always admired Kenshin and having him suddenly turned into a child, no a baby, was throwing him off in more ways then one.  
  
"It's not just him," Karou said after a moment. "I think that I want to leave him this way too."   
  
Anger flashed across Yahiko's face. "What are you saying! I thought you were in love with him! How could you want to leave him like this? How could you want him to be trapped as a child?!" he spat at her hotly.  
  
Karou struggled to answer his question. The truth was she couldn't answer it for herself yet. She didn't fully know why she wanted him to stay like he was.  
  
Yahiko didn't wait for an answer either. "I'm going to spend the night at the Akebeko!" he shouted before racing out of the room.  
  
Karou sighed and stopped cooking. She really couldn't focus on it anyway. She hadn't thought about how Yahiko would feel about her feelings for Kenshin right now. In fact, she hadn't thought about how anyone would react to the news. Maybe it was better if Kenshin got turned back to his proper age.  
  
It that were true, who was it better for? Would it be better for Kenshin to be his true age, or would it be better for his acquaintances? She sank to the floor beside him, searching his face for any sign that he was happier like he was now.  
  
It seemed so clear when looking at him. He had his clean foot in his hands, holding it to his smiling face and sucking on his heel. He lowered his foot when he caught her watching and practically beamed joyfully at her.  
  
Eyes sparkling, she reached out to him and allowed him to capture her finger in his small fist. It was easy to say that he was happy right now, but Yahiko's livid expression spoke volumes in favor of turning him back. Could she really do nothing at all to keep Kenshin as he was and still keep Yahiko happy?  
  
Contemplating those thoughts, she didn't hear Megumi enter until the doctor tapped her on the shoulder.   
  
Kenshin had already fallen asleep and it was well past sunset. "I'm finished with him now. You should go get some rest," Megumi whispered. "I had Sano set up Kenshin's room for the both of you."  
  
Karou's eyes, which had been closing, opened wide. "Oh, that reminds me, how is Enishi?" She had forgotten about him completely while turning the pressing thoughts over in her mind.  
  
"He's asleep, which is where he should stay for the rest of the week at the minimum," Megumi said firmly. "He shouldn't be moving about at all. He still had untreated wounds from his fight with Ken-san."  
  
"But that was over a year ago," Karou protested.  
  
"Aa, and it leads me to believe that he doesn't have a very good sense about what's good for him. I leave it up to you to make sure that he stays in bed, do you understand?" Megumi asked.  
  
Karou nodded.   
  
"Hey, Megumi, I'll walk you home," Sano called from the doorway, causing Kenshin to whine in his sleep. Both girls shushed him immediately and he cringed away from them. "Sorry, sorry," he said.  
  
Megumi patter her on the head. "It you have any trouble, let me know in the morning," she whispered before heading out the door after Sano.  
  
Karou listened to the two of them leaving, and watched them disappear from sight. She glanced back down at Kenshin, who was sleeping peacefully with her finger held in a tight grip.  
  
After a moment, she picked him up, humming to him as he shifted in his sleep. She walked down the hall, still not sure about anything, but ready to put it off until the next day.  
  
She checked Enishi, noting that he was sleeping peacefully now. Whatever Megumi had done to him had worked. She had fixed him the only way she knew how. Karou rubbed her eyes sleepily and closed the door with a soft click.  
  
Then, stumbling with weariness, she pushed open the doors to Kenshin's room and settled into his futon.   
  
Closing her eyes she inhaled his scent, noting how he smelled different now that he was a baby, but at the same time, he smelled exactly the same.  
  
The baby cuddle up against her, little hands grasping at her hair. He sighed heavily in his sleep, and years of worry seemed to pour off of him. Karou sighed too, but it didn't feel or sound anywhere near as releasing as his sigh had.  
  
There were too many thoughts swirling through her mind. For hours, she lay awake in bed, listening to the steady breathing of the baby at her side.  
  
************************  
  
Author's notes'  
  
Wah ha ha ha! See, I wrote two chapters at the same time! I hope that you're happy! I stayed up until three in the morning typing all of this ( Of course I started at one, so it didn't really take that long. . . . .)  
  
Anyway, thanks for the reviews. . . . GIVE ME MORE!   
  
Thanks for reading,  
  
Kissa-chan 


	7. Morning choices

Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
Kaoru was sleeping, a worried expression on her face. She had been up most of the night trying to decide what to do about Kenshin. She was grateful, as she fell asleep, that she didn't have to do anything the next day except take care of the dojo and Kenshin.  
  
That way it didn't matter how late she had ended staying up until. She didn't have to get up at any set time. So for once, she planned to sleep in.  
  
A sharp pain at the side of her skull jerked her awake a little past dawn. "Wahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Kenshin wailed beside her, his fist holding a handful of her ebony hair while it was pumping up and down furiously.  
  
"Nani?" Kaoru murmured unhappily. She rubbed her eyes wearily and tried to take his hand out of her hair. "Kenshin. . . do you have any idea what time it is? What do you want?" she asked.  
  
In response to her voice, Kenshin stopped crying and started to giggle. However, when Kaoru pulled his hand out of her hair and tried to go back to sleep, he was wailing again.  
  
She sat up abruptly, a cross expression on her face. "What do you want?!" she asked, her voice tight with anger at her missing sleep. The blankets pooled around her feet as she stood up and the cool morning air brushed against her wet sleeping yukata.  
  
She froze, kneeling down beside the bed and patting it lightly with her hand. To her dismay, the sheets were damp. Her patting hand checked over the happy looking baby, revealing that he had wet himself sometime during the night.  
  
Kaoru tried to get upset with him, but he smiled at her. She sighed instead and picked him up, heading for the bathhouse to clean both of them up for the day.  
  
After bathing, an event that went slightly better then the bath she tried to give Kenshin the previous day, Kaoru slipped into the kitchen and prepared some rice water for the baby. He ate greedily and smiled thankfully after he was done.  
  
Kaoru ate several moments later, helping herself to some of the leftover soup. She frowned at her lack of culinary skills. The miso soup was some of the worst she had ever even attempted to make. It was downright gross.  
  
Nevertheless, she ate and then cleaned up the dishes and headed back to her room to change. Sliding the door open, she set Kenshin down on the floor and reached for a kimono that was hanging on a rack.  
  
"Are you just going to change in front of me?" Enishi asked from the bed as she started to change.  
  
Kaoru started guiltily and tied the sash on her robe tightly around her waist. "Gomen, I forgot that you were sleeping in here," she murmured softly.  
  
The white haired man leaned back and closed his eyes. "It doesn't matter. I won't look,'' he promised.  
  
"All the same, I'm going to change in the other room," Kaoru announced firmly. She bent down and picked Kenshin up and reached for the door handle.  
  
"Matte!" Enishi exclaimed. He shot out of the bed, a wild look on his face.  
  
"What?!" Kaoru exclaimed. She looked around, trying to catch sight of what had spooked the older man. Seeing nothing alarming, she turned to look at him curiously.  
  
"Leave Kenshin here with me," Enishi said, leaning back on her futon. "I haven't seen him in a while, and I miss him," he confessed.  
  
"You just seen him yesterday," Kaoru pointed out. "And you need your rest. Kenshin just woke up, he'd just distract you from sleeping."  
  
Enishi looked away for a moment. "I'm just going to take it easy. I won't be sleeping. I could keep an eye on him while you get changed, and I'm sure that you have all sorts of chores to do today so - "  
  
"Maybe later," Kaoru responded quickly and closed the door before he could finish his protest. Her heart was beating heavily in her chest, and she was clutching Kenshin tightly to her bosom.  
  
She realized that she had been worried that Enishi would try and take the baby away from her. She had been thinking that it would be nice to put Kenshin down for a couple of hours while she got some more sleep, but suddenly that plan was dashed to pieces.  
  
She didn't want to leave Kenshin's side until she knew that when she came back for him, he would still be there. Leaving him with Enishi. . . . . she didn't think that she could do it.  
  
There was a good reason for her reluctance to leave the child. If she were Enishi, she would take Kenshin and leave as soon as she was alone with him. That way no one could try and make him change back to his proper age.  
  
She changed quickly in Kenshin's room and stepped into the hallway. Yahiko was standing in front of her.  
  
Hey, Kaoru," he said lightly. There were dark rings under his eyes, and he didn't look like he had slept at all. "Can I . . . . . hold Kenshin?" He wouldn't meet her eyes as he spoke and Kaoru didn't want to hand him over to anyone.  
  
'Stop it,' she ordered herself mentally. 'Yahiko's not going to take Kenshin and run. He's going to just hold him for a second to see what a baby feels like.' The words sounded true, but they felt wrong.  
  
Yahiko held out his hands and she reluctantly handed the small red haired child over.  
  
She watched the older boy's face carefully as he gazed at his favorite swordsman. At one time, Yahiko had wanted to have Kenshin train him. Now there was a chance that Kenshin might grow up to be trained by Yahiko.  
  
"Are you really him?" Yahiko asked Kenshin softly.  
  
In response, the baby giggled and kicked him in the face.  
  
Yahiko traced a thin white line on the baby's cheek. "Do you think his scar will get like it was?" he asked.  
  
"What was that?" Kaoru asked in alarm. She plucked Kenshin out of Yahiko's hands and rubbed his check until she was certain that there were no marks on it. "Don't scare me like that," she snapped at Yahiko.  
  
"Hey, give him back," Yahiko objected. "Megumi, Sano, and I are going to take him to the locale Shin- "  
  
"I don't think that you should tell Jou-chan that," Sano announced from behind the both of them.  
  
Kaoru started and glanced at him. "Why is that, Sano?" she inquired innocently. If they brought him to the temple they might return him to his proper age before she decided if it was the right thing to do or not.  
  
"Because . . . . . . I think that you like Kenshin like he is right now," Sano said instantly. "You don't want him to return to his proper age. You want him to be stuck as a ba-"  
  
At that point, Kaoru cut him off. "What would you know?" she demanded. "What I want is for Kenshin to be happy. Have any of you ever seen him smile like this before?" She thrust a happy baby towards Sano and Yahiko.  
  
"Ken-san was happy," Megumi announced. "I've seen him happy like that before and you can't say that I haven't - "  
  
Once again, Kaoru cut her off. "How often?" she challenged.  
  
"A couple of times at least," the foxy doctor responded.  
  
"He didn't like his past. He never wanted to be recognized as the hittokiri battousai. He . . . . . he's my responsibility, now get out!" Kaoru shouted.  
  
"You can't just kick us out! Kenshin's our friend too," Megumi said firmly. "Whatever happens from here on out has to be a decision made by all of his friends. Besides, even if he's happy now, have you thought about what will happen later in his life?"  
  
"I don't . . . . what do you mean?" Kaoru asked timidly. She was clutching Kenshin tight to herself again and watching them all with restless blue eyes.  
  
"What I mean is, a child with a single parent is considered to be - "  
  
"Be what?" Kaoru snapped. "Are you trying to imply that there was a problem with my upbringing? It was only my father and I as long as I can remember and - "  
  
"But your mother, in spite of being dead, was married to your father. If you even think about raising Kenshin, you'll be branding him a bastard for life. And there wasn't a problem with your upbringing, but you obviously didn't turn out normal!" Megumi shouted.  
  
Kaoru went still. "You're right," she whispered. "Kenshin would never be treated equally with a single unmarried mother. Then he'd ask about his father and - " Her voice dropped off abruptly and she retreated into her room, closing the door with an audible click.  
  
Enishi looked up from the bed. "I want to raise Kenshin," he said after about eight minutes.  
  
"No, Megumi's right, it would. . . . be worse for him in the end if I tried to raise him, and it'd be the same with you. We have to try and get him back to his regular age before too much happens to scar his mind."  
  
Enishi was silent. He spent most of the rest of the day watching Kaoru. She had obviously decided to hide out in her room and avoid all of her friends for the day. She was actually really pretty, he noted. Even with her eyes puffy from crying she still seemed vibrant and -  
  
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. It didn't really make sense to be thinking about her. At the moment, he should be focusing all of his attention on catching her off guard and taking Kenshin away with him.  
  
Then a thought occurred to him, and he knew what he had to do. In the end, it was the only option available. He would have to do it and it would make everything right.  
  
"Kamiya . . . . . .Kaoru," he said catching her attention.  
  
She glanced at him, watching the way his green eyes locked onto hers. "What?" she mumbled.  
  
He took a deep breath and prepared to propose.  
  
Author's notes;  
  
This story seems to be taking a long time to write. I had planned on finishing it three chapters ago. Oh well. So long as everyone likes it I'll continue.  
  
As you probably can tell it's almost time for Enishi and Kaoru to get married. There's a lot of stuff planned for the next chapter, so please don't give up on my story even if I do have to take a while between chapters (it's all my jobs fault. I work way too much in the summer.) 


	8. The Proposal

Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
************************  
  
Kaoru looked up from where she sat, slumped against the wall with a giggling baby in her arms. "Nani?" she asked wearily. She felt lost and confused. She hadn't even thought about Kenshin's future. All she had been focusing on had been his present happiness.  
  
She knew that Kenshin wouldn't be able to tolerate dishonor. He was a very proper man and being forced to live with the knowledge that his mother had no husband would shatter his happiness as surly as a hammer would shatter glass.   
  
She could see him, a five year old Kenshin, realizing for the first time that his mother wasn't being taken care of. She could imagine the hurt look that would enter his eyes. She could imagine the distance it would put him from the other children his age.  
  
Following that image, she looked down at the content child. Maybe it wouldn't matter. Maybe he would be able to tolerate being born out of wed lock. The other maybe was worse for Kaoru. What if Kenshin turned to the life of a swordsman to recover the honor that he would feel that she deserved. What if . . . . . .  
  
Enishi cleared his throat and she started guiltily. "Sorry, I got lost in thought," she murmured.  
  
  
  
"It's been happening a lot to me lately, so I know what you mean," Enishi said simply. He was gazing at her intently, taking in her worried expression and the puffy skin around her eyes. "You look better when you haven't spent your whole day crying," he informed her.  
  
"I thought you had a question," Kaoru said. She shifted her attention back to Kenshin, unwilling to be swayed by flattery. She didn't need to worry about what other boys thought about her right now. She needed to decide what to do with Kenshin.  
  
"I want to keep him like he is."  
  
Kaoru glanced back at Enishi. He was staring fixedly at her, but his eyes seemed out of focus. "I know," she responded after a moment, "You told me that before."  
  
"What they said is true. He wouldn't be able to recover if he thought he was a bastard," Enishi announced.  
  
Kaoru bit the inside of her lip. "But he's so much happier . . . . . . " she mumbled. She turned away from him again, studying Kenshin once more. "I think that he might be able to live with just a mother and - "  
  
"And you? Can you live without - " Enishi began to say.  
  
"No! How could you even suggest such a thing. Ever since I first met Kenshin I've been unable to live without him. I was sad about the thought of him leaving after I'd known him for less then thirty-two hours!" Kaoru exclaimed quickly, springing to her feet and holding a startled baby to her chest.  
  
Enishi stood up and took a step towards her. "That's not what I - "  
  
"No! Leave us alone!" Kaoru shrieked.  
  
Enishi sighed. It was obvious that the ebony haired girl was worn out. She had turned things over in her mind for the majority of the day and probably most of the previous night as well. However, unlike him, she hadn't come up with anything. Every choice that she saw presented was unwanted.   
  
As a result, she was having a breakdown. She had cried most of the day, dry and wet sobs tearing through her body. She had whispered sweet reassurances that she wouldn't let anything bad happen to the child, and then cried even more when he smiled at her.  
  
He forced himself to check his temper. He was a patient man, and he knew it. He realized that timing was important. Planning was also important. He was good at patient timing, his Jinchuu being proof of that.  
  
His revenge against Himura had been long overdue by the time he gave up. He had waited for so long. He had made sure that he was better and that he would make Himura suffer a fate worse then death.   
  
Of course, that plan had ultimately failed, but that wasn't important anymore. All that mattered was making sure that the child didn't lose his trusting eyes. All that mattered was making sure that he didn't become something that he loathed anymore.  
  
"I'm sorry," Kaoru whispered after a long moment. "I didn't mean to yell, I'm just, I'm just - "  
  
Enishi cut her off as a fresh batch of tears threatened to overcome her. "Marry me," he said bluntly, and immediately cursed himself. He had decided that a lot of tact would have to go into his words. He had decided to make it more then just a request. He hadn't meant to ask her so abruptly. For a moment, he stood, several feet away from the woman and child, a look of shock on his face.  
  
Kaoru looked just as shocked. She sank down against the wall again and stared open-mouthed at him. "What did you . . . . ?" she managed to get past her surprise.  
  
Enishi sighed. He had made a mistake, but at least she wasn't screaming and hitting him anymore. "Marry me," he said again. "I want to marry - "  
  
"Why would you want to marry me?" Kaoru interrupted him. "Is it because of Kenshin?" Her sapphire blue eyes were narrowed with a hard glint in them.  
  
"Yes," Enishi responded. As the words came out of his mouth, he cursed himself again. "No!" he tried to correct, but Kaoru was already moving.  
  
"Get out of my house!" she ordered. "Get out of Tokyo! Go to a nice quiet graveyard and just die!" She had marched up to him and was attempting to push him towards the exit.  
  
"It's not how you think it is," Enishi tried to explain. He realized that she believed his words came from a desire to hurt Kenshin when, in fact, it was just the opposite.   
  
"Oh really? So you want to marry me because you think it'd be funny to marry Kenshin's sweetheart, don't you?" Kaoru snapped. She had tears in her eyes again and was glaring angrily at him.  
  
Enishi sat down abruptly, pulling her onto the futon beside him. "I want to raise Himura as my own child," he told her. He had pinned her wrists together with one hand and extracted Kenshin with the other. "I want to raise him, but so do you."  
  
Kaoru didn't say anything. She looked livid, but at the same time, she looked lost and alone. She looked desolate. Enishi ignored her features and started studying the wall as he spoke.  
  
"The way I see it, you can't raise him by yourself because you're afraid how he'd react later in life. Personally, I think that you're right, but there is an easy solution if you're willing to accept."  
  
"What do you mean?" Kaoru asked.  
  
"If you marry me, then we can raise Kenshin together, and he'd have a father. All we'd have to do is never tell him about his past. We could - "  
  
"Let him believe that he's our child," Kaoru answered. "I suppose that's the kind of excuse you would offer, but - "  
  
"Excuse?" Enishi inquired, raising one eyebrow quizzically. "I'm not making any excuses, Kamiya."  
  
Kaoru didn't answer his question. "Let go of my wrists," she said simply. "I don't think I'll be excepting your proposal on the grounds that - "  
  
"I won't leave," Enishi announced softly.   
  
"Yes you will," Kaoru scoffed.  
  
"Maybe, but I'd take him with me. I need him . . . . . . he's the only thing keeping me alive," Enishi whispered with a trace of irony in his voice.  
  
Kaoru froze, turning to look at him. Enishi was gazing at the baby with a lost look in his aquamarine eyes. They looked like dead eyes, searching for a glimmer of life. He turned towards her, unable to hide the need on his face.  
  
"I tried to get rid of him, but you put him back in my arms. You gave him back to me and I'll never let him go again," he whispered.  
  
"Yukishiro-san, I think that you should - " Kaoru began to say, but stopped abruptly. "Can you tell me why?" she asked, tilting her head to look at him. "Can you tell me why you want to raise Kenshin?"  
  
"It's stupid. I'm stupid," Enishi whispered.   
  
"Just tell me!" Kaoru snapped. Her temper was still worn thin, and his self degrading was irritating.  
  
"He trusts me," Enishi said flatly. "He looks at me like I used to look at my sister, and I want to protect him."  
  
"I want him to be happy," Kaoru said after a long moment. "That's what I want most of all. I want Kenshin Himura the former Hittokiri Battousai . . . . . . to be happy. And you want to protect him. So maybe we should get married. Kenshin would be happy and you could protect him and - "  
  
"Will you?" Enishi interrupted. "I mean, isn't 'love' supposed to be part of marriage?"  
  
"There will be love," Kaoru said steadily. She had been turning things over in her mind, and realized that it was an easy solution to their problems. Her doubts on marrying Enishi faded away even as his own mounted.  
  
"Really? I don't love you," Enishi said bluntly. He watched her closely, waiting for an angry reaction from her.   
  
He didn't get one. Instead, she smiled. "Think about it. You love Kenshin, and I love him too. We're getting married because we love him. That means it is a marriage for love, just not the usual kind."  
  
Enishi looked slightly anxious now. "I don't love Kenshin," he said hurriedly. "I love Tomoe and he killed her and - "  
  
"If you don't love him, then why can't you just leave him here?" Kaoru interrupted. Enishi seemed to be losing his grip on reality rapidly.  
  
He stopped for a long moment and glanced down at Kenshin. "I don't like his name," he announced. "I love him, but his name . . . . . I hate it," he said quietly.  
  
"It'll have to be changed," Kaoru said lightly. "If we get married, he'll be a Yukishiro and if we don't he'll be a Kamiya."  
  
"Marry me," Enishi repeated again. He turned to face her, a look of grim determination on his face.   
  
"I will," Kaoru responded.   
  
Instantly, they both felt better. There wasn't any uncertainty anymore. They were going to get married and that solved everything.   
  
"I don't have anyone that I think should be invited," Enishi told her.  
  
"I'll invite a couple of people," Kaoru responded.  
  
"I need to sleep," Enishi muttered.  
  
"I'll send out the invitations and get something to eat," Kaoru announced. She waited until he was asleep, then gathered Kenshin from his arms and headed out the door. She felt mildly shocked at the relief that was coursing though her body. Finally, there was no more indecision  
  
She entered the kitchen and started supper. Then she started to plan her wedding.  
  
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Author's notes;  
  
Sorry about the delay. I had written at four chapters and was getting ready to save them when the power went out. I was so disappointed that I couldn't write in this story for a while. However, the story continues.   
  
I thought about ending the story here, but then came up with several ideas that won't be put down, so I'll have to write them. The Kyoto group will be coming into the story in a couple of chapters, along with the Shinto priest who did this to Kenshin. You can expect a little bit of danger, so keep reading.  
  
Thanks for reading,   
  
Kissa-chan 


	9. Those opposed

Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
************************  
  
"I don't like it," Sano announced flatly. "You're in love with Kenshin. Why the hell are you marrying his greatest enemy?"  
  
"And his brother-in-law at that!" Yahiko interjected. "It's not right, Kaoru, and you know it."   
  
Both boys stood with their arms crossed over their chests. Kaoru had insisted on taking them all out to dinner at the Akabeko after the meal she'd been preparing was burnt beyond recognition. She had hoped that with the solving of earlier problems, they would agree with her and Enishi's decision.  
  
However, judging by their angry looks and defiant stances, neither Sano nor Yahiko were happy about the decision. And they weren't the only ones.  
  
Every few seconds, Tae, the owner of the Akabeko, would glance over and shake her head in disappointment. She clearly remembered the last time that she had seen Enishi and didn't like the thought of him eating in her restaurant, much less marrying one of her friends.  
  
Tsubame was having a similar reaction. "Miss Kaoru . . . . uhmmm . . . . don't you think that maybe you should at least try?" she asked while setting their tea down in front of them. "Try and get Himura-san back to his proper age, that is," she quickly clarified.  
  
Yahiko and Sano both gave her a thankful look for her words and sat down, but Kaoru knew that they would be back up and arguing the second she answered the shy, young girl's question.  
  
"Tsubame-chan, I don't want to. I believe - " she began to say before Sano rudely interrupted her.  
  
"You don't want to?" he demanded. His dark brown eyes were flashing dangerously, and as he shouted, the fishbone in his mouth bobbed up and down.  
  
"No, I want Kenshin to be happy. He wasn't happy before . . . . when he was older," Kaoru said after a slight pause.   
  
"And just how would you know that?" Megumi demanded. The lovely doctor had been sitting quietly across from Kaoru since they had arrived. Kaoru had been hoping that her silence had meant that she wasn't going to oppose her union with Enishi, but judging by her cold tone of voice, she didn't approve of the decision either.  
  
"What do you mean?" Kaoru asked carefully. There was a slight chance that she was wrong and Megumi just wanted reasons. If she got snappy, she might not get a chance convert the young woman to her side.  
  
"How do you know that Kenshin wasn't happy?" Megumi re-stated. She picked up her cup of tea and took a careful sip, watching Kaoru carefully.  
  
"Because . . . . . . " Kaoru's voice trailed off. "Megumi-san, didn't you ever look at his eyes? They were always sad and lonely. Even with all of us around, Kenshin never felt like he was one of us. He never felt like he deserved to be happy. He smiled and laughed, but not because he was happy or amused. It was because he loved us and - "  
  
"Dammit!" Sano exclaimed, standing up abruptly and picking Kenshin up from where he was playing with his chopsticks. "Stop talking about him in past tense. He's right here, and all we have to do to return him to normal is to find a Shinto priest and have him reverse the process!"  
  
"If it's reversible," Tsubame whispered softly.  
  
"It's gotta be!" Sano exclaimed in horror. "Who'd want to be trapped in an itsy bitsy body, not even being able to talk?"  
  
"You were saying," Megumi prompted, ignoring Sano and his words completely. "I believe you said, that he acted happy for us because he loves us?" Her words were cold and full of disapproval.  
  
"It's true," Kaoru said simply. "Kenshin has been trying to make up for his past ever since the Bakumatsu. Once he met us, he realized that not everyone blamed him as harshly as he had thought. To a degree our love and trust in him brought him out of his shell, but what Ji'eh said was true."  
  
"What did Ji'eh say?" Enishi piped up from his side of the table. "I take it that you're talking about Kurogasa, ne?"  
  
Kaoru nodded slowly. "He said, 'A Hittokiri is a Hittokiri until the day that he dies.' Kenshin never could escape the stain of blood on his hands. He could only try and make amends for it. His guilt, his regret for his actions, they kept him from being happy. Now that he's a baby, he doesn't have to be a hittokiri anymore. He - "  
  
"He can't even tell us what he wants because he can't talk," Yahiko interrupted.  
  
"That's what I said!" Sano announced. "We should at least turn him back to his normal age and see what he wants. I feel confident that he doesn't want to be a ba - "  
  
"Sssh!" Megumi hissed sharply. "Let her finish."  
  
Kaoru sighed. She didn't seem to be getting anywhere with her words. "Megumi, what I'm trying to say is this turn of event, Kenshin being a baby again, this is a good thing. It gives him a clean slate. He's not a killer anymore. He's just a baby, and all babies are innocent. He doesn't have to cope with the guilt that comes with - "  
  
"Killing people, my sister included," Enishi finished. "Himura is better off this way. He should have never been a warrior in the first place. This child," he took Kenshin from Sano, "Should be a farmer or merchant. He should never have to worry about the taint of blood."  
  
"Or maybe you're just finding it amusing to see your sworn enemy turned into a helpless child," Sano accused.  
  
The white harried man took a deep breath, ignoring Sano and speaking directly to Megumi. "When he was in Oatsu with Tomoe -   
  
Megumi tossed her hair behind her back. "Unless I'm mistaken, I believe that you were the one who destroyed his peace in Oatsu. Weren't you conspiring to kill him? Didn't that eventually lead to your sister's death?"  
  
Enishi's eyes flashed dangerously.   
  
Tsubame raised her tray over her mouth and nose, backing away from him. Yahiko stepped protectively in front of her.  
  
Megumi didn't respond to the dangerous look on his face. She starred coldly at him, waiting for him to make the next move. Sano tried to get closer to her so that he could protect her if it came to a fight, but she shooed him away.  
  
"Have you nothing more to say?" Megumi asked.  
  
Enishi suddenly laughed. He threw back his head and laughed. If anything, the already apprehensive Kenshin-gumi, got even more nervous. "Listen to you!" he exclaimed. "Accusing me of killing Onnee-san." He laughed again.   
  
"You find this amusing?" Megumi asked. "You think that it's funny?"  
  
Enishi leaned towards her, all laughter suddenly gone from his eyes. "Let's make a couple of things clear. Number one, I didn't kill my sister. Number two, the person who did is now gone and I won't let him come back."  
  
"He's right here," Yahiko blurted out, pointing to Kenshin.  
  
"No, that's my son," Enishi said mildly. He handed Kenshin an empty tea cup, watching as he played with it.   
  
There was a long moment of stunned silence, broken by the arrival of Dr. Gensai and his granddaughters.  
  
"Who's the baby?" Suzume asked.  
  
"Who's baby?" echoed Ayame.  
  
Kaoru sighed and pulled them both onto her lap in a quick hug. "It's me and Enishi's son," she said.  
  
"Tell them the truth!" Sano exploded.  
  
"She did." Enishi's voice fell quietly from his lips.  
  
"Nobody asked you," Sano snapped.   
  
"He has a right to talk!" Kaoru exclaimed. "And that is the truth!"  
  
"Oh yeah?" Sano replied. "Then tell me this, where's Kenshin?" He raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you tell Ayame and Suzume where Kenshin is?"  
  
As if on cue, both little girls started to ask for the red haired rouroni. "Where's Uncle Kenny?"  
  
"Uncle Kenny?"  
  
Kaoru shot an angry look towards Sano. "He's -"  
  
"In Hokkaido delivering some medicine for me," Dr. Gensai piped up. He turned to Kaoru. "I wonder though . . . . does he know about you and Enishi?"  
  
Kaoru glanced away. "I suppose he might know," she said after a long moment.  
  
"Then does that mean he'll be returning or will he return to wandering?" Dr. Gensai inquired.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure that Kaoru doesn't want him back here like before," Tae announced. She set down a steaming hot pot of stew in front of them. "Eat up," she said with a careful glance at Enishi.  
  
Both little girls started eating right away, but none of the adults could find any room for food. They sat around the table, glaring, smiling, or simply looking on in confusion at one another.  
  
"Here you go!" Suzume declared, she handed Kenshin a hot piece of meat. The young baby seized it and immediately began to scream.  
  
  
  
Enishi calmly picked him up. "I'm going to take him outside and cool his hand off," he told Kaoru.  
  
"Is he all right?" Suzume asked worriedly.  
  
"All right?" Ayame repeated.  
  
"Yeah, he's fine. Why don't you come out with me?"  
  
"Dr. Gensai would be a fool to let you take his grandchildren out of his sight!" Yahiko exclaimed.   
  
"Oh, there's no problem," Dr. Gensai announced. "If Kaoru trusts him, then I trust him. Besides, he's a father now and that changes people."  
  
"But that's Kenshin," Megumi rejoined the conversation. "It's no child of his."   
  
"That can't be Kenshin, he's far too young - " Dr. Gensai began to say as Enishi took the three children outside.  
  
"Yeah well, it is," Sano hissed hotly.  
  
*****************************  
  
Enishi sighed. It was good to be out of the stuffy restaurant. The cool breeze and warm sunshine felt much better then the hot and angry expression worn by Kaoru's friends.   
  
He had been expecting hostility, but the amount he was receiving was rather extreme.   
  
He stopped walking in front of the well and dropped the bucket down. One of the little girls peeked over the edge. The other one, the smaller one, leaned over, trying to see where the bucket landed.  
  
Enishi picked her up and set her down before hoisting the bucket up. He put Kenshin's tiny red hand into the water and turned to look at the examining stares of the children.  
  
"What's her name?" Suzume asked.  
  
"Name?" Ayame repeated.  
  
"Huh?" Enishi responded. He crouched down beside them. "Actually the baby's a boy," he told them. He turned his crouch into a sitting position and leaned again the well. "I suppose we might call him . . . . . " his voice trailed off.  
  
"I don't know . . . . . ." he muttered after a long time. He didn't like the idea of continuing to call him Kenshin. The name would have to be changed eventually. It would only bring up a past that they wanted him to forget.  
  
"How about Soushi?" Suzume asked.  
  
'Bout Sou?" Ayame added.  
  
"I'll have to talk to Kamiya-san about that," Enishi replied. He wondered if she would want to keep his name Kenshin.  
  
"Are you two going to get married?" Suzume asked slyly.   
  
Enishi nodded and both girls leapt on top of him with squeals of delight. "What the hell!" he exclaimed in surprise.  
  
"Kaoru's like our sister," Suzume explained.  
  
"Kaoru's out sister!" Ayame shouted.  
  
"And that means you're our Uncle Enishi," Suzume added.  
  
"Uncle Neeshee!" Ayame exclaimed fondly and kissed his cheek happily before giving him another hug.  
  
"I suppose this is our - " Suzume started to refer to Kenshin when Sano strolled by.   
  
Judging by the dark look on his face, Kaoru had been unable to convince him of anything. In fact, it looked like he might cause trouble with their union. Enishi made a silent note to up the time and place for their wedding. He didn't care if nobody came to the reception. He just wanted Kaoru and him to be safely married before her so called friends tried something stupid.  
  
Moments later, Yahiko stomped by, his face livid. Trailing slightly behind him was a distraught looking Tsubame.  
  
"Yahiko-chan," she called after the spiky haired boy.   
  
He didn't even hesitate in his step. He didn't give any reaction to being spoken to at all. Within seconds, he was gone. Tsubame almost sank down to her knees, but spotting Enishi, she hurried back inside.  
  
Enishi debated going in. Now that Sano and Yahiko were gone he might be more welcome inside. Before he could make a decision, everyone piled outside.   
  
"Come along girls," Dr. Gensai called out. "We're heading home."  
  
Both girls looked slightly confused, but they hurried after their grandfather, waving at Kaoru, Enishi, and Megumi as they vanished from sight.  
  
"So what happened?" Enishi asked. He had a feeling that Dr. Gensai was opposed to leaving Kenshin a baby. That was probably why had given him wide berth when he had exited the restaurant.  
  
"I believe that this calls for majority rules. "Nobody will be happy until Kenshin is back to his proper age. I can't be happy knowing that - " Megumi started to say.  
  
"Wrong," Enishi said flatly, startling both Kaoru and Megumi. Kenshin, who was splashing innocently in the bucket of water, glanced up curiously before turning back to his game.  
  
"What makes you say that?" Megumi demanded.  
  
"Simple. You aren't thinking about Kenshin's happiness. You're thinking about your own happiness. That makes your entire train of thought defective. Seeing as that's the case, I believe it's time that you leave. Kaoru and I have a wedding to plan and things to talk about."  
  
"Enishi don't be so rude," Kaoru said.  
  
"It's in his nature to be inconsiderate," Megumi said dissmissively. She tossed her hair over her shoulder again. "I suppose that you invited everyone in Kyoto to your reception."  
  
Her comment threw both of the off guard for a moment. "Yes, why?" Enishi asked, standing up and crossing his arms.  
  
"We'll leave the decision up to them," Megumi said simply. "If one of them agrees with keeping Kenshin like he is, I'll back down. However, all of them want Kenshin to return to his proper age, then you both will back down."  
  
"Deal," Kaoru responded.  
  
"No deal," Enishi said at the same time.   
  
"Well, what is it?" Megumi asked. "It can't be both. Why should I back down if one of you won't agree with what I say?"  
  
"You're the only one who's going to back down. Sagara and Myojin. . . . . everyone else. We'll still have to deal with them," Enishi said flatly. "You just tried to trick us. How very . . . . . . fox like of you."  
  
Megumi frowned. "I speak for everyone when I say we'll back down."  
  
"Come back with them and let's hear you all say it together," Enishi responded. "Then, maybe I'll listen. Until then, get out of my sight."  
  
Megumi turned and walked away without another word.   
  
Kaoru sat down by the well with Enishi. She closed her eyes, savoring the pleasant air. "Thanks," she muttered.  
  
Enishi nodded and sat down beside her. "I suppose that we should go in and eat," he said lightly. "It should be more pleasant inside now that everyone's gone."  
  
"Tsubame-chan and Tae-san - "  
  
"Will mind their own business," Enishi replied.  
  
"I suppose . . . . " Kaoru muttered. She stood up and waited while Enishi got to his feet.   
  
Enishi offered her his arm, and then they went into the restaurant  
  
************************  
  
Thanks for reading,  
  
Kissa-chan 


	10. kidnapped

Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
************************  
  
Inside the Akkabeko the air seemed to be stuffier. Kaoru sat down wearily, starring at the large pot of beef stew. "I don't think that we can eat all of this by ourselves," she said aloud.  
  
"That's okay," Enishi responded. "Whatever we can't eat we'll take back to the dojo. I can always heat it up for breakfast tomorrow. It'd probably be better than your cooking anyway."  
  
"That's not very nice," Kaoru said softly. "I - "  
  
Enishi leaned towards her. "I believe that you know what your food tastes like, so let's not flatter you uselessly. Besides," he added, leaning back, "You'll have a lot of things to do in preparation for the wedding. You won't have time for cooking or anything like that."  
  
Kaoru looked startled. "I have a lot to do?" she questioned. "I mean, what do we need to do?"  
  
"Not we, you," Enishi said, helping himself to a portion of soup. "You have to get fitted for your wedding kimono, unless you already have one that is. Then you'll need a couple of kimonos for the reception - "  
  
"I don't think that we'll have a reception," Kaoru interrupted. She was thinking about her friends and how they were completely against her wedding. They probably wouldn't want to come.  
  
"We'll have one anyway," Enishi said, reading her facial expression rather then her mind. He knew what she was thinking. He also knew that the whole situation was boarder lining on depression for the young master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu.  
  
"Why bother?" Kaoru inquired.  
  
Enishi took a bite of his soup, stalling for time in answering the question. He swallowed quickly and took a deep breath. "Basically, you still don't know how everyone's going to react. At least wait until you see the people you invited from Kyoto. Once they're here we can make more plans, and in the meantime, let's plan that they'll love the idea, ne?"  
  
Kaoru eyed him narrowly. "Why are you being so helpful?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
Enishi blinked slowly. "I should have thought that would be obvious," he said finally.  
  
"Well, it's not," Kaoru said.   
  
"It should be," Enishi responded. "You're a beautiful young woman, strong in spirit and kind of heart. You're a talented swordswoman with burning blue eyes. And to top that off, you're going to be my wife. I get to be your husband."  
  
He leaned closer, dropping his voice to a bare whisper so that Kaoru had to lean foreword to hear him. "You are amazing, and I swear that I'll be the best husband that a woman could ask for. And if you let me, I'll love you. I know that I will."  
  
He sifted his head slightly and laid a gentle kiss on her mouth. "I promise to be everything that you need." He leaned back in his chair, gazing at her while bouncing Kenshin on his lap.  
  
Kaoru refused to answer him at all. She started to quickly eat her food, making sure that she always had food in her mouth. Enishi's words, coupled with the intense look in his aquamarine eyes had held her spellbound. Much to her surprise, her pulse had quicken noticeably, and her heart was fluttering in her stomach.  
  
She had always dreamed of romance. Ever since childhood, she had imagined finding someone that made her breath still and her heart thunder in her chest. She had dreamed of someone who she could love.  
  
Since meeting Kenshin, she had decided that he was the perfect person for her. She had spent many nights lying in bed, imagining the way it would feel if he ever said or did anything romantic with her.   
  
His words had made her feel lightheaded and giddy, but Enishi's had struck a cord deeper in her soul. It was as if he had been talking directly to her heart, bypassing her common sense and all other emotions.   
  
And he had kissed her! It was all that she could do to not raise her fingers to her lips and confirm the tingling sensation that was a byproduct of her mind. It was all she could do to keep her face turning into a deep crimson blush.  
  
"Ahem, can I get you some more tea?" Tae inquired abruptly from behind her. The owner of the restaurant sounded upset and a trifle betrayed.  
  
"I'll have some," Enishi said quickly, handing her his empty cup.  
  
Tae eyed him coldly and glanced back at Kaoru.  
  
The ebony haired woman was still eating quickly. She wanted to answer Tae, but her voice didn't feel like working. She was afraid that if she attempted to speak, her voice would emerge as a breathless whisper. Then she wouldn't know what to do.  
  
Tae thought that she was betraying Kenshin by marrying Enishi. In a way, it felt almost like she was. For so long she had wanted him. For so long she had dreamed of him. Now, for her to be getting breathless and crimson over a mere kiss from Enishi . . . . It was starting to feel like betrayal.  
  
She hadn't thought that she was attracted to Enishi. She hadn't thought that she could even love him. It was only supposed to be a marriage of convenience. She wasn't supposed to feel anything for him except gratitude at his willingness to raise Kenshin with her.  
  
She felt lost and confused for the millionth time that day. It was all too much. How could she sort out her feelings for leaving Kenshin a baby if she also had to sort out her feelings for Enishi in comparison with Kenshin.   
  
'What I need,' she thought bitterly, "is a girlfriend to talk to. However, with Megumi, Tae, and Tsubame all against me, who can I talk to?' The thought struck her rapidly. There was still a chance that she could talk to Misao about the situation.  
  
The young leader of the Oniwabanshuu was supposed to come up for the wedding reception less then three days. There was a chance that she would be able to confide in the shinobi.  
  
She smiled broadly at Enishi, in better spirits with the prospect of speaking to a female friend who would at least (hopefully) hear her out.  
  
************************  
  
Tae approached the crimson robed man at the back of the restaurant with a look of disgust on her face. "It's horrible!" she exclaimed softly, but with great anger visible in her words.  
  
"Is it not like I told you it would be?" the red robed man asked in a feathery voice.   
  
Tae peered at him closely, looking for any sign of what the man looked like under his hood. It was a short stooping man. Wearing crimson robes with golden tassels, his feathery voice sounded old. In his left hand, he held a long golden staff with three bangles on each side.  
  
The man had arrived at the Akkabeko with an interesting request earlier that morning. "I'm Rizuu, a priest of the Shinto way. I have come to restore Himura Kenshin to his proper age."  
  
Naturally, Tae had been suspicious. "Himura Kenshin is in Hokkaido, delivering medicine for Dr. Gensai - "  
  
"He was until the lunatic Enishi Yukishiro abducted him. He was accidentally turned into a child by a member of the priesthood. Before we could reverse the process, he was taken from the area."  
  
Tae opened her mouth to respond, but her raised one hand, requesting silence. "You may choose if you will help me or not. In any event, wait until you have seen your friend, Himura."  
  
Tae had agreed to make a choice by the end of the day. Rizuu had stayed at the Akkabeko in a corner booth sipping tea and meditating all day long.   
  
Then the Kenshin-gumi had arrived, and from what was said, Tae learned of Kenshin's plight.   
  
"What do ya need me to do?" Tae asked softly.   
  
"Put this herb into Yukishiro's tea. It's a sedative and will put him to sleep," Rizzu the priest said.  
  
Tae nodded once and prepared a cup of tea. "What about Miss Kaoru?" she asked. "Will she be a problem?"  
  
"Of course not. The young miss is simply confused by Yukishiro's words and actions. The sooner we return her true love to his proper form, the better it will be. However, I may need a young man to hold her down while I take Himura to the holy place."  
  
"Yahiko," Tae said instantly. She turned to Tsubame. "Tsubame, go fetch Yahiko. Tell him that we're going to get Kenshin back to his proper age immediately, but we need his help."  
  
"Tae-san, are you sure that this is a good idea," Tsubame whispered. "I mean, Miss Kaoru looks really happy. They almost look like they're a family-"  
  
"That's the problem!" Tae exclaimed. "Yukishiro is using her. We have to get Kenshin and Kaoru back right away! Now hurry along," she ordered and made a shooing motion.  
  
Tsubame scurried out of the restaurant and off to find Yahiko.  
  
************************  
  
Kaoru and Enishi were talking about kimono designs when Tae returned with Enishi's tea.  
  
"Do you think that we should go with a sakura blossom design on the second or third kimono?" Kaoru inquired.  
  
Enishi shrugged, accepting his tea with a nod of his head. "Personally, I think that a soft pink and white kinomo with a sakura blossom print would be good for the actual wedding. It's accent your eyes nicely."  
  
Kaoru considered his words carefully. "We could try on a couple after we finish eating," she decided. "I was actually thinking more along the line of a blue for the first kimono."  
  
Enishi nodded his head slightly, picking up his tea and taking a small sip. "I think that would be - " his voice died off suddenly. A strange expression flashed across his face, leaving him paler then he already was.  
  
Then he started to bleed. It wasn't like you would normally bleed. It was more forceful, like a million cut had suddenly exploded all over his body.  
  
Heavy drops of warm blood splattered across Kaoru and Kenshin's faces and clothes. Enishi, who was almost immediately drenched, doubled over, clutching at a particularly dark area under his rib cage.  
  
Kaoru moved foreword, trying to see what was wrong. Yahiko's tanned hand rested on his shoulder. "Hey busu, not this time. Yukishiro's the one responsible for Kenshin being a baby."   
  
"He'll be fine, it's only a sedative," Tae added from where she was standing. She looked a little nervous at all the blood, but was determined that she was making the right choice.   
  
Tsubame stood beside her, hiding behind her tray. Her eyes were sad and regretful, like she realized she had made a mistake and didn't know how to correct it.  
  
Then Kaoru seen him. A hooded priest was strolling foreword. Instantly she knew that he was there for Kenshin. "NO!" she shouted and started for the child that was only a couple of feet away from her.  
  
Yahiko wrestled her to the ground. "I'm not going to let you stop him!" her apprentice exclaimed. "He's going to return Kenshin to his proper age."  
  
Kaoru struggled to throw her apprentice off of her, but he had her firmly pinned. She already knew that it was useless, but she kept on trying. Tears were streaming down her face. "Yahiko, please don't do this," she sobbed, going limp with defeat in his arms.  
  
He loosened slightly. "I'm sorry. I have to do what I think is - " before he could finish talking, Kaoru flung him into the wall and sprang towards Kenshin.  
  
A strong hand grabbed her wrist and jerked her back abruptly. "Yahiko's right. We have to do what we feel is right, Jou-chan," Sano's voice announced. He had been with Yahiko when Tsubame came and delivered her request.  
  
"He not a baby," Megumi said firmly. "You're just afraid to love him when he's grown up. You know that it's easier to love a child then an adult and -   
  
"He's as he should be," Enishi's voice slipped past his bloody lips. He picked Kenshin up, holding his gently to his chest. He tried to stand up, but ended up falling to the floor with a cry of anguish as Rizzu smashed him in the middle of his back with his staff.  
  
"I don't think that you should be moving," Rizzu said softly, removing Kenshin from the unconscious man's arms. "You're dying from the tea leaves I had Tae give you anyway . . . . . . "  
  
"What do they do?" Tsubame asked quickly.  
  
Rizzu smiled under his cloak. "They judge him. Unless given the antidote, all injuries that he has ever sustained shall remain unhealed. Being a warrior, I'm sure that he'll be dead from past injuries within the hour."  
  
"But you didn't say that you were going to kill him," she whispered.  
  
Rizzu didn't answer her. Instead, he spoke to everyone. "I shall go to the Holy Place now and return Himura Kenshin to his proper age!"  
  
He strolled out the door without another word.  
  
After several moments, Sano released Kaoru with a muttered apology.  
  
She didn't move for several long moments. Indecision tore at her heart. "Ken . . . shin . . . . ." she whispered, starring at the door. "En . . . ishi . . . " she murmured, glancing back to the bleeding man.  
  
Angry tears formed in her eyes. "Help him!" she exclaimed at Megumi. "Don't just stand there, he's dying."  
  
Megumi didn't move. She turned and walked out of the room, a strange expression on her face. Yahiko and Sano headed out the door as well.  
  
Tae, who had made sure the restaurant was devoid of other customers turned to Tsubame. "Start cleaning this mess up. I'm going to go get some more water from the well." She left the room quickly.  
  
Tsubame hurried over to Kaoru. "Can I help?" she asked, then stopped, seeing a hot angry look on Kaoru's face.   
  
"How could you do this?" Kaoru exclaimed. "How could you . . . . . " she hoisted Enishi up, wrapping one arm around his bleeding side. "I'm never coming here again!" she exclaimed, tears trailing through the blood on her face. "I hate you all!"  
  
Her words were rash, and she wished she could take them back. She headed into the street, crying and holding the bleeding man in her arms and hurrying towards Dr. Gensai's clinic.   
  
The ageing doctor wouldn't turn anyone away. He would treat Enishi's wounds. Then she would find Kenshin. She had to find Kenshin . . . . . .   
  
************************  
  
Author's notes;  
  
Rizzu is the real bad guy. Please don't be mad at the others. They're just a little confused on what to do. Please read and review.  
  
Thanks for reading,  
  
Kissa-chan 


	11. Antidote

Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
************************  
  
"Kaoru?" a vaguely familar voice drifted into her sleep muddled thoughts. "Kaoru . . . . wake up. I need to talk to you."  
  
Kaoru blinked, squinting her eyes at the bright light. An axious face swam into view. "Misao?" she questioned, almost certain that the jade green eyes belonged to the young ninja.  
  
"Hai!" Misao reponded instantly. "Are you okay? You've been sleeping like the dead since yesterday."  
  
"Nani?!" Kaoru exclaimed in alarm. She had slipped into a fitful sleep shortly after bringing Enishi to Dr. Gensai's clinic. The last thing she remembered was being told that they were going into emergancy surgury.  
  
She started to struggle, trying to make her weary body obey her commands. Misao put a hand on her sholder. "Relax," she urged the slightly older woman.  
  
Kaoru took a deep breath. "Don't tell me what to do. You're an aweful friend and I ha - "  
  
Misao put her hand to Kaoru's mouth. "Before you finish that sentence, do I at least get to know what's going on?" she asked, an unusally serious look on her face. "All I know is that you sent a very vague wedding invintation to Kyoto and since I've arrived I've only been told that you were asleep."  
  
Kaoru blinked. "What about Enishi?" she asked, sinking back into the futon she was lying on.  
  
If anything, Misao started to look even more confused then she had a second ago. "Uhmmmm . . . . Enishi Yukishiro? What's he got to do with anything?" she asked, a perplexed look gracing her features.  
  
"Ahem," Dr. Gensai cleared his throat loudly from the doorway before Kaoru could attempt to explain her plan and her reasons behind her choices.  
  
The aging doctor looked weary, like he hadn't slept all night. There were black bags under his kindly blue eyes and he was hiding a yawn behind his hand. "I've done all that I could," he announced.  
  
"And?" Kaoru asked axiously, while Misao practically had question marks floating around her head from confusion.  
  
Dr. Gensai cleared his throat again. "Without the anitdote, he will die," he said softly.  
  
"What's the antidote?" Kaoru asked in an even softer voice.  
  
"Who'll die?" Misao blurted out.  
  
Kaoru waved Misao's voice down. Her still uncertain feelings for Enishi were starting to confuse her. She wanted to save him, but if she left Kenshin alone in the care of that priest . . . . . . what would happen to him?   
  
She screamed, loudly, not even attempting to resist the urge. It wasn't fair that she had to choose to save only one of them. If she went to get the anitdote, she had no doubt that she would never see Kenshin alive again. However, if she didn't, then Enishi would die.  
  
"Dr. Gensai, who needs an anitdote, and what for?" Misao asked. She glanced back at a furiously distraught Kaoru and then back towards the aging doctor. "You have to tell me. Or at least tell me where and what the anitidote are, then I'll go retrieve it and someone could tell me what's going on."  
  
"There'll be no need for you to retrieve the anitidote," Dr. Gensai announced. "You'd probably only bring back more posion anyway - "  
  
"How could you?" Kaoru whispered. "It's your duty as a doctor to save as many lives as you can. How could you say that there is no need to get the anitidote?"  
  
"That's simple," Dr. Gensai responded, laughing in a slightly wheezing fashion. "I've already sent some volunteers to retrieve the required medicine."  
  
"Who?" Kaoru asked as Misao sank to the floor mouthing the words, 'who who what what?' Kaoru ignored her, as did Dr. Gensai.  
  
"Yahiko, Sano, Megumi, and Tsubamme came by late last night. They demanded to speak to you, but they weren't able to wake you. They left this letter and headed out almost immeadiatly.," Dr. Gensai said, hanging her a letter.  
  
"Arigatou," Kaoru murmured, remembering her manners and inclining her head gratefully as she took the letter.  
  
"Oh, it's no problem at all," Dr. Gensai yawned. "I'm just going to **yawn** take a little nap now . . . ." Without another word, he left the room.  
  
Kaoru starred at the letter, notning that her name was written in Megumi's tidy script on the front.  
  
"So it must be Kenshin, right?" Misao asked. "He's got to be the one posioned. He's the only Kenshin-gumi member that I haven't seen yet."  
  
"You wouldn't recognize him if you seen him," Kaoru said distractedly. She opened the letter, pouring over it's words carefully.  
  
The letter was short and to the point.  
  
"Dear Kaoru,  
  
Sorry we trusted Rizzu. We were just angry that you weren't considering our feelings. We didn't mean to get Yukishiro hurt - I'd only do that in a fair fight. Anyway, we're going to get the anitidote, just hold on."   
  
That portion was written in an untidy scrawl that belonged to Sano. Underneath it there were a couple more sentences.  
  
"We'll talk things over when we return . . . promise," those words were written in Megumi's handwritting.  
  
Kaoru set the letter down and glanced around the room, her spirits lifted. She hadn't expected them to suddenly be helpful again. After what she had witnessed at the restaurant, she didn't believe that she could ever trust them again.  
  
She set the letter down with a sigh that finally relieved some tention from her body. Now that her friends were helping her again, she could find Rizzu and Kenshin. She wasn't going to let anything happen to Kenshin.  
  
She stood up and walked out of the room without a word.   
  
Her bare feet padded along the hall until she came to the room that Enishi was resting in. Sliding the door open, she entered and sat down beside him. "Hi," she mumbled. "I'm going to get our baby back."  
  
Enishi, who was unconcious, didn't respond. Kaoru brushed some of his hair back from his face, tucking it behind his ears. "I really don't know what to make of you anymore," she admitted. "I just hope that we can work things out later, you know?"  
  
She bent foreword, as if she were going to kiss his mouth. For a moment, she lingered over his mouth before kissing his cheek lightly. "I'll be back," she promised. Then, before she could change her mind, she stood and hurried off to the Kamiya Dojo with a perplexed Misao bounding around her in confusion.  
  
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Author's notes; Ahem, I would like to apologized for the horrible long wait for this chapter. And I'm sorry that it is so short. I lost track of the point of the story and was forced to put it on hold. (I got writers block ..... -_- ) Anyway, I'm back into the story, so expect an update a week.  
  
And thank you soooooo much to everyone who reviewed.  
  
Regards,  
  
Kissa-chan 


	12. Tsubamme's opinion

Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
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"Where's the Holy Place?" Kaoru demanded instantly as she plunged through the doors of the Akebeko. She was dressed in a worn pair of hakama with a blue gi top. In one hand she clenched her shinai in a slightly aggressive manner. "Tell me!" she shouted.  
  
Tae looked up from the back of the room and hurried foreword. "Kaoru-chan, you're all right," she said in relief. Then she cast her eyes toward the ground. "Gomen nasai. I didn't know. Rizzu seemed like he was -"  
  
"Tae!" Kaoru said raggedly. "Do you know where the Holy Place is or not? Kenshin's in danger. We have to help him. I have to help him."  
  
"Make that 'we'!" Misao piped up from behind her. She was looking around the restaurant, taking in the splattered remains of Enishi's blood. "I'm coming with you," she said firmly.  
  
Kaoru felt a surge of gratitude. "At least Misao-chan is still my friend," she said to Tae. The words didn't feel right coming out of her mouth though. No matter what happened, she couldn't reject her friends. Even if they did poison her fiancee. Besides that, Tae seemed to regret the choice she had made.  
  
"I thought it would put him to sleep...." Tae murmured. She looked stricken. Black bags were heavy under her eyes and Kaoru got the feeling that she had not slept the night before.  
  
Still, sharp, hateful words slipped past her mouth, "And when he started bleeding profusely?" she demanded.  
  
Tae shook her head. "I don't know where Rizzu took Kenshin. I - I didn't know what to do when he started to...... bleed ...."  
  
Kaoru sighed. "It's okay," she said. "We're all just a little bit too tight these days. Once we find Kenshin, everything should get better." She put her hand on Tae's shoulder. "I accept your apology and for what it's worth, I'm sorry too."  
  
Tae gave her a tight hug. "I just hope that we can find Kenshin," she said.  
  
"WHAT ABOUT ME!" Misao suddenly raged from behind them. "I can help too! But I need to know what's going on!" She was pacing rapidly. "I mean, someone kidnapped Kenshin, right? And you and Enishi ......" she shrugged helplessly as her mind refused to come up with an explanation.  
  
"We're getting married."  
  
"They're getting married. It's their choice. We have no right to interfere," Tae said simply. She gave Kaoru's shoulders a tight squeeze and turned to Misao. "Can you track a man for me?"  
  
Misao was goggling in confusion at everyone. "Na-na-nani!" she stammered her question. "But I thought that, Kaoru-san was in love with Himura......."  
  
Kaoru let the assumption roll past her. Now wasn't the time to be considering her mingled feelings for Kenshin and Enishi. In any event, she was confident that she was making the correct choice in deciding to marry Enishi and leave Kenshin a baby. The matter didn't really deserve any more of her time.   
  
"Oh well," Misao said bleakly. "I suppose explanations will have to wait until we find this Rizzu idiot. Himura probably already made mince meat out of him though." She started examining everything closer. "What did he look like?" she asked Tae.  
  
Within several moments, Misao was on her way out the door with Kaoru following close behind her. "I can't believe an aging gnome could snag Kenshin away from you guys," she admitted. "But I think it's time we got our Himura back."  
  
The trail - Kaoru couldn't really see it - twisted through Tokyo and out into the surrounding countryside. Misao had an unusually serious look on her face, seemingly lost in focus and concentration. Once or twice, Kaoru asked her a couple of questions; however the young ninja didn't give any sign of hearing or answering.  
  
Kaoru found her mind begin to wander. Her thoughts kept drifting from Kenshin and his plight to Enishi, lying unconscious at Dr. Gensai's clinic. She began to wonder what Sano, Megumi, and Yahiko were doing. If they were having any success in finding the antidote.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Covered in small scratches, Sano entered Dr. Gensai's clinic with a bundle of small blue flowers. "I got the medicine," he said stiffly. "This is it, isn't it?" He dropped the herbs onto a table and glanced around the room.  
  
They had decided to split up and search the area carefully for the herb to increase their chances of finding it before Kaoru woke up. Whoever found it was to gather a handful and return right away. It looked like he was the first person back.  
  
"Ah, this will do nicely, Sanosuke," Dr. Gensai announced. He pulled a small bowl down and began grinding the flowers into a pulp with a mortar stick. "I'll just grind it up and -"  
  
"Is Jou-chan still here?" Sano asked.   
  
The aging doctor shook his head slightly. "I'm afraid that she went after Rizzu. At least that's where I presume she's going. Can't blame her either, now can we?"  
  
Sano glanced down at his bandaged hands. "I guess not," he said softly. HE sighed and leaned back against the wall. Kaoru was sure to beat an old priest up. Then they would have Kenshin back - as a baby. But was that really worth it?  
  
Obviously Rizzu was a horrible man. Leaving Kenshin with him wasn't a good idea. However, was leaving Kenshin as a baby a good idea? He turned the problem over in his mind several times already and it kept coming back to - "I don't want to lose a friend."  
  
He heard the door open and glanced up, his eyes falling onto a similar plant scratched Yahiko and Tsubamme, each of them holding handfuls of the same flowers he had already brought. "Are we too late!" Yahiko blurted out.  
  
Sano raised his hand slightly. "I'm already here," he pointed out. "Dr. Gensai's already making the medicine." His eye roamed over them. "Any sign of the fox-lady?"  
  
He kept his tones light, but was still lost in thought.  
  
Dr. Gensai finished whatever he was doing and hurried into the other room. "I'll be busy for a while, keep quite," he advised.  
  
"Jou-chan is going to marry Yukishio," Sano said bleakly. "She's going to crack up Rizzu, bring Kenshin back and raise a happy little family."  
  
Yahiko nodded blankly. "I know. I keep thinking the same thing." He paused. "I also keep thinking that if Kenshin dies it'll be our fault. If Enishi dies...... that will be our fault too....."  
  
Sano nodded. "But can we really let Kaoru marry him?" He glanced back down at his hands, not expecting a reply from anyone.  
  
"I-I-I t-think that w-we s-should," Tsubamme stuttered. "It makes them both happy and ......I know what Kaoru thinks when she sees Kenshin content. He's already done so much for all of us, but some facts will always remain the same."  
  
"What do you mean?" Yahiko asked, tilting his head to look at her. "Are you saying that Kenshin deserves to be a baby?"  
  
"So what if I am!" Tsubamme exclaimed. "I've been thinking about this a lot since yesterday, you know."  
  
"So have we," Sano pointed out.  
  
"But you haven't gotten anywhere," Tsubamme pointed out softly.  
  
"Have you?" Megumi's smooth voice came from the doorway. She set hr bundle of herbs on the table with the others and strolled foreword, taking a seat beside Sano. Following her part way into the room and closing the door was Shinamori Aoshi. He leaned against the wall and didn't say anything.  
  
Tsubamme felt like hiding and knew that her face was turning red. "Yes, I have!" she said hesitantly. Then she got bolder. "Kenshin can't forget about his past. It haunts him and he gains nothing by regretting past actions. He was a hitokiri - a manslayer - and he committed the worst crime of all. He killed his wife. After he got back from fighting Enishi, we all thought that he was better and he was. But he was just better at concealing his sorrow and shame. He's only at the middle of his life, but he feels old. Doing and seeing too much in life does that to a person. He...." she stumbled on her words and made the motions to duck behind a tray that she didn't have.  
  
"That's true," Megumi said. "But all people can heal with time. And some scars aren't meant to fade."  
  
"But they have." The conviction in Tsubame's voice left no doubt about her feelings. "He no longer carries the sign of the battousai. That scar is gone." Her eyes fell to the floor. "Would we give him back his brand of sorrow by turning him back to his proper age?"  
  
"His brand of sorrow?" Yahiko repeated softly.  
  
"His past is his sorrow and the cross shaped scar on his cheek is the remained of the worst of his crimes," Tsubamme explained.   
  
"People must live through -"  
  
"And even if you think giving him his mental burdens back is a good idea, then think about his body!" Tsubamme shouted, overriding every voice in the room. "You all heard what Megumi said about him practicing the Hiten Mitsurgi Ryuu, didn't you?" She gazed at them imploringly.   
  
"His body can't take the strain. If he keeps practicing it, it will kill him," Megumi repeated solemnly.  
  
"Right! But do you think that will stop bad things from coming into our lives? Kenshin will always protect us - no matter what the cost to himself. He'll be drawn into engagement after engagement until there is nothing left to him....... He doesn't need to be the hitiokiri anymore. We need to let him..... die." She tilted her head down. "Does anyone understand?"  
  
Aoshi inclined his head slightly. He had already been briefed on what was going on. Megumi had informed him on the way to the clinic. "The battousai isn't needed any longer," he acknowledged.  
  
"But he's just Kenshin -" Yahiko stated softly.  
  
  
  
"And who is Kenshin? He's a mixed result of his past, as are we all," Aoshi responded. "The battousai will always live in him. However, by letting his past go and giving him nothing but a future, he stands a good chance of finding true contentment without a crimson haze overlaying his vision."  
  
"Crimson haze?" Yahiko murmured.  
  
"The lives he has taken..... they taint the sight of those who kill and regret," Aoshi said softly. He stepped away from the wall. "May I see him?"  
  
"Enishi?" Megumi asked. "I think that Dr. Gensai is with him at the moment."  
  
Aoshi looked at her coldly. "Himura," he corrected her stiffly.  
  
"He was taken by Rizzu, a Shinto priest. Kaoru-san went after her with Misao-chan," Tsubamme announced.   
  
"She'll bang him up and be back in no time!" Sano added. He stood up, stretching out his long legs. "I'm heading back to my place to mull things over."  
  
"You don't mind if I come with you, do you?" Yahiko asked. "I kind of have a lot of things I need to review."  
  
"Sure, come along," Sano said generously.  
  
"The girls are in grave danger." Aoshi's voice drew everyone to a stop. "Rizzu is rumored to be hundreds of years old. He is a worthy opponent."  
  
"If he's hundred's of years old, his joints probably don't work anymore!" Yahiko exclaimed.  
  
"He steals the vitality and skill of his enemies. He steals their skill by stealing their knowledge. An after effect is that they become children. However, he must then kill the child to regain his peak of abilities. If he has stolen Himura's skill, the girls won't stand a chance."  
  
  
  
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Author's notes;Yeah! I got my flow back. Heh, heh, this is starting to shape up pretty good.  
  
Thanks for reading,  
  
Kissa-chan 


	13. Beginning of the end

Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
  
  
The trail led into the mountains.  
  
Misao stopped walking abruptly. "The old gnome's just up ahead," she announced. Then, after a slight hesitation, she continued. "But I don't think he has Kenshin. There is no sign that he even came this way."  
  
Kaoru frowned. "Well, Rizzu was probably carrying him," she reasoned after a moment.  
  
"Not if he was as old as you claim. Himura might be small but -" Misao began.  
  
"That's right, I didn't get a chance to tell you, did I?" Kaoru mumbled. "But know really isn't a good time. I'll explain everything to you after we get Kenshin..... if you haven't figured it out by then."  
  
Misao shrugged. "He's in that cabin," she announced, pointing at a small wooden house with an overgrown garden.  
  
They approached the doors cautiously. Kaoru felt her pulse begin to quicken with the rising uncertainty of their situation. She pulled her wooden shinai off of her back and clenched it tightly in both hands. It had been a while since she had actually been in a fight.  
  
Which was silly, she reflected suddenly. The only reason that Rizzu had been able to steal Kenshin in the first place was because he had used poison and her friends had restrained her. Using force probably wouldn't be a good idea in the upcoming battle.   
  
Misao nudged the door open with her foot, peeking inside cautiously. "Oh," she said in surprise. She pushed the door open with her hand and stepped inside, all caution set aside for the moment. "It looks like he already left."  
  
Kaoru nodded, sapphire blue eyes scanning the room. "Then he's probably beginning the ceremony with Kenshin......." Her words sank in and she raced back out the door with all of her senses straining for some indication that Kenshin was close by.  
  
Her ears, no where near as acute as Misao's, picked up the chanting almost immediately. It was coming from a valley.... Without waiting for Misao, she began to run down the rocky incline.  
  
"Kaoru!" Misao exclaimed. "Wait for me! I'm part of this too!" She raced out of the cabin and paused, listening to Kaoru crashing into the valley. She shook her head. Even a gnome with bad hearing was going to detect the rescue operation. Any element that surprise could have lent to their fight was now lost.   
  
Or was it? Kaoru probably wouldn't need back-up to deal with one aging gnome. Misao could follow her down the path discreetly and provide surprise reinforcements..... if they were even needed at all. Frankly, the young ninja felt confident that they could win the fight and save the day. But that was only if Kenshin hadn't taken care of things first.  
  
She reflected lazily, as she made her way sneakily down the slope, that everything was different then she had imagined it would be. Kaoru wasn't marrying Kenshin. Enishi seemed to be an ally. Crazy old gnomes were becoming adept at sneaking up on the former hitiokiri battousai. Kaoru had been angry at her friends.... said mean and spiteful things to some of them..... There was something that she was missing. A key piece that would make everything come into focus.   
  
She frowned thoughtfully. Clearly nothing was normal. That meant that she had to anticipate everything and not let anything surprise her. She had to go into the upcoming engagement with the truth as she knew it in her mind. But what did she know?  
  
Suddenly the answer crystallized in her mind. The one thing that was absolutely clear - Rizzu had kidnapped Kenshin. That meant he had to be talented. And that meant Kaoru was probably in danger.  
  
"Baka!" she berated herself. "Why didn't you see it sooner?" She picked up her pace, racing as fast as she could. Now everything was an obstacle and she didn't seem to be making any progress.  
  
Then she heard a scream of pain.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Kaoru hadn't been worried at al. She arrived at the 'Holy Place' - a small river with a towering oak tree hanging in the water. Rizzu was wearing crimson garments, exquisitely embroidered with strange symbols. His hood was no longer drawn over his head, leaving his face exposed to the world.  
  
  
  
He was really, really old. His hair, held up in a traditional samurai topknot, was whispy and gray with patches of it completely gone. His face was worn and creased, and it looked like his wrinkles had wrinkles. Over his amber eyes, thin gray eyebrows flowed across his entire brow.  
  
He turned and watched her cover the last few steps to her. "I have been waiting for you," he said, his voice thin and wiry. He looked pleased to see her. "I was afraid that I hadn't left a clear enough trail."  
  
Trap! Kaoru's mind closed around the one word quickly and she berated herself for abandoning Misao at the top of the cliff. She braced herself, expecting an attack from any direction at any moment. Her shinai came to her hand naturally, falling into a defensive posture.  
  
Rizzu seen her looking around and laughed, a dry rasping cackle. "I'm sorry, young miss, but it's just you and me. I didn't bring anybody else here except the babe." He pointed his wooden staff at a bundle of crimson cloth.   
  
"Why did you leave a trail for me to follow?" Kaoru demand, mind whirling through the possibilities but coming up hopelessly short. "What do you really want with Kenshin? I know you don't want him back at his proper age!"  
  
"The hitiokiri is as he is. It is irreversible," Rizzu acknowledged. "But that idiot Yukishio Enishi ruined things before I had completed the spell. Now I will need some assistance to get it started again......"  
  
"What kind of assistance? And what spell are you talking about?" Kaoru asked loudly. "You can't hurt Kenshin, I won't let you."  
  
Rizzu looked toward the sky. "Maybe if I show you...?" he offered. "That would make things so much easier. He stooped over, picking up a sword. "This sword is Himura's original. The sword of a manslayer.... a hitiokiri!"  
  
Kaoru felt her eyes widen in shock as he pulled the blade from its sheath. "Impressive, isn't it?" he asked her. "But it hasn't been used in so long. It thirsts for blood." He smiled, revealing yellowing teeth, decaying with age. "And in it's blade lies the skill of the Hiten Mitsurgi Ryuu."  
  
"I don't understand!" Kaoru objected, stalling for time. She was starting to worry. Something about this priest wasn't right. He felt evil. He was also too sure of himself. She had to get Kenshin off of the alter he was lying on.   
  
She had to get Kenshin. It was the only thing that mattered. But that wasn't right, Enishi mattered too! She didn't want to lose a single member of her new family. It wouldn't be fair. She started inching closer to the alter, keeping half of her attention on Rizzu.  
  
Then he vanished, leaving nothing but an after image behind. A chill shot up her spine. Had he looked different? His hair hadn't been that dark and thick before.... had it? And there was no way that he could move that fast.  
  
"You see, it's incomplete! My mastery of the Hiten Mitsurgi Ryuu is still lacking the full knowledge. Eternal youth awaits me!" Rizzu seized her by her hair, jerking her back sharply and drawing a startled scream from her lips. "All off his knowledge, his skill - it's all mine. You can't beat me because I am him. I'm the hitokiri battousai now! And I don't fight with a sakabatou."  
  
He threw her away from him, unfastening his robes and flinging them away to reveal hakama and a gi. He tucked the sheath into his belt and swung it into a battou jitsu stance. And he was getting younger. His hair was now ebony black and his face was unlined. "I think you know this stance," he said with a laugh.  
  
"Why are you...?" Kaoru began to ask. But the answer was clear. He was old - ancient was probably a better word. He wanted free of the ties of age, so he had done something to Kenshin - stole his skill. Altered his age. But it wasn't complete. "What do you still have to do? she asked.  
  
Rizzu straightened up. "Kill." He smiled. "Kill you to be precise. I set up the ritual so that his replacement wife would be killed by my hand. Then the final stages will be complete and I will be all powerful."  
  
He attacked, letting the blade rake along her sword arm, tearing a deep gash into the skin. Kaoru screamed again, this time in pain.  
  
"Do Ryu Sen!" Rizzu proclaimed, smashing the sword into the ground and laughing as Kaoru was flung back by the blast. She crashed into a thicket of trees and lay unmoving. "Victory is so easy with these new powers," he laughed.  
  
He turned away from the trees, moving back to the alter just in time to see Kenshin get picked up by a small girl with long black hair.   
  
"Lady, I ask you not to take other people's children," Rizzu said irritated, but still in a fairly good mood. He had never won a fight before in his life, and finally accomplishing the unreachable task of being a winner had him in a good mood. In the past he had always been in last place, the looser. He had no friends, and everyone always picked up him..... called him names..... said he was worthless. But now he had all the power that he needed to become invincible.  
  
"No way, you stupid old gnome!" Misao exclaimed. She sprang straight up, landing in a tree lightly. "This baby is mine!"  
  
Rizzu's face tightened. "What did you call me?" he demanded lightly, but fury was boiling inside of him. He hated her suddenly, the strange young girl that reminded him of a weasel. She was just like his tormentors from the past. As the thought made its way through his mind he smiled wickedly. He would begin his killing spree with her.  
  
"A gnome," Misao replied. She watched him begin to seethe and behind him she saw Kaoru struggle to a sitting position. There was still no sign of Kenshin. It was just Kaoru, the gnome, the baby, and herself.   
  
"Misao, watch out!" Kaoru screamed at her. "He's using the Hiten Mitsurgi Ryuu!"  
  
"Huh?" the young ninja managed, then he was right in front of her, reaching for Kenshin with murder in his eyes.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Misao sprang out of his grasp nimbly, feeling the fabric on her sleeve tear. Her balance lost, she teetered on the tree branch, frantically windmilling her free hand.   
  
Rizzu laughed, reaching out with one hand and pushing her backwards roughly.  
  
For one horrible moment, she was falling towards the ground headfirst. Then she twisted her body, and cradled the baby closer to her. She hit hard and fast and came to her feet shakily. The child was giggling and pumping his arms and legs furiously.  
  
A shadow fell over her, darkening the child's face as Misao was peering at it. "Where's Kenshin!" she yelped, springing back as the sword dug into the earth where she had just been standing.  
  
"Your holding him!" Kaoru screamed back at her. She was getting closer by the second, her shinai held tightly in her left hand. A long cut along her right arm was bleeding heavily. She sprang into the air with perfect form, putting all of her energy behind a downwards strike.  
  
She slammed into the ground, leaving a decent sized impression, but missing Rizzu by inches. He knocked her back with a careless strike and stood poised to strike the finishing blow. "You can't win. I'm smarter then you, stronger then you, and even faster then you. I better. I'm the winner. I'm -"  
  
"You forgot one thing. You're uglier then Kaoru, you gnome!" Misao shouted. "And you aren't prettier then me!" She felt slightly apprehensive as he turned towards her, cocking his head angrily to the side. "What didn't you hear what I said, busu?" she demanded.  
  
"Busu?" he asked, fury blurring the adjective.  
  
"Oh yeah!" Misao agreed, moving beside Kaoru and handing the bundle of baby to her. Without looking back, she pulled out a handful of kunai. "You can't win with that injury," she said softly for the kendo instructor. "Get back to town and bring reinforcements."  
  
"But...." Kaoru objected. This wasn't a fight that either of them could win. Even working together, they would be no match for the Shinto priest with Kenshin's skill. They would both die..... and Kenshin would die with them.  
  
"Go!" Misao exclaimed, giving her a sharp push.   
  
"Neither of you are going -" Rizzu started to say. Then he was ducking under Misao's flying kick. "That's way too slow!" he snarled, swinging the sword to the spot where she should have landed.   
  
"GO!" Misao shouted from the trees where she had landed. Kaoru took a step towards her, the baby held protectively to her chest.  
  
"Misao-chan I - I can't just leave..." she tried to explain desperately. "I have to -"  
  
"I'll be all right! I won't let this looser beat me!" Misao exclaimed. She flung a couple of kunai at Rizzu to keep him occupied. "We can't both die here," she said softly, landing beside Kaoru and giving her a push.   
  
"Then let's both run," Kaoru argued. "We'll double team him and then split in different directions." She kept her words low and switched Kenshin to her right arm. "Let's do it now."  
  
Misao nodded and shot towards Rizzu in perfect time with Kaoru, striking high while the older girl went low.   
  
The priest slashed up with his sword, sending an arc of crimson blood shooting away from Misao's face. "NOW!" the ninja shouted and both girls split into the trees.   
  
Rizzu made to follow Kaoru almost instantly. Without her death, his powers would fade the moment he lost contact with the sword in his hands. His spell would be broken and he would revert to what he had been in the past. "Ku Zu Ryu Sen," he muttered grimly.   
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Author's notes;Thank you to everyone who reviewed me on the last couple of chapters. I'm happy to say that this story is almost complete. Give it about two more chapters and maybe an epilogue.... perhaps an alternate ending...... And then that's all.  
  
Thanks for reading,  
  
Kissa-chan 


	14. Love realizations

Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
************************  
  
Kaoru felt her heart pounding fiercely in her chest. Her breath was coming in hot, strangled gasps. She was sweating heavily and felt slow and cumbersome - even wearing her practice hakama! In her arms, Kenshin had began to cry. Obviously he didn't appreciate all of the jostling.  
  
She slapped twigs and branches out of her face, trying to pick the easiest trail back up the cliff, and overall; back to Tokyo and the relative safety of the Kamiya Dojo.  
  
She wanted to twist around and see how close Rizzu was....... She had heard him following her almost as soon as she started running. But lately she wasn't hearing anything from him. That meant one of two things was happening. One, he was moving faster then her and setting up an ambush somewhere. Or two, Misao had retaliated as soon as she realized she wasn't being followed. Kaoru didn't like the sound of either of them.  
  
She broke into the clearing with the cabin several seconds later. Then she stopped, trying to tone down the pounding of her blood pumping loudly in her ears. Kenshin's cries and her own heavy breathing prevented her from hearing anything.   
  
She scanned the downward path with sapphire blue eyes, looking for signs of pursuit. Spotting a flock of birds scattering from somewhere in the valley below, she felt horror flicker across her features. Misao hadn't run after all. She had attacked Rizzu.  
  
She started back and then stopped. She couldn't afford to let Kenshin get caught by the deranged priest again. What if she wasn't able to get away with him again? But how could she abandon her friend? She hadn't even meant to drag the shinobi into the mess..... it had just happened.  
  
"And now I'm split again," she murmured aloud to the baby in her arms. She was trapped between her feelings for her baby and the desire to help her friends. But picking one would mean she would lose the other..... if not both.  
  
She remembered suddenly - with a surge of irritation at the truth behind the words - something that her father had told her once. She had been throwing a tantrum because she wanted to learn to cook and perform kendo. He had laughed and said without even thinking; "Those who want everything will end up with nothing."  
  
But what could she do? Kaoru wanted everything. She wanted her friends to accept the situation as it was. She wanted to finish her wedding plans with Enishi - something she was actually starting to look foreword to........ She wanted to protect Kenshin, her baby, from any and all harm - physical or mental. And she didn't want to sacrifice her friends to do it.  
  
"Misao!" she shouted. "Hold on!" She wasn't sure if her voice had carried, but that didn't really matter. The only important thing was defeating the man who had stolen Kenshin's technique and ...... staying alive - that was important too!  
  
*******************************  
  
"Nani?" Enishi asked sharply. He was sitting up on the hospital futon, looking at Tsubamme with intense turquoise eyes. "Where is Kaoru?"  
  
Tsubamme half hid behind her tray. "Kaoru-san and Misao-chan went in search of the Shinto priest, Rizzu. He kidnapped Kenshin-san..... er.... Kenshin-chan....... and they're going to rescue him."  
  
Enishi didn't even bother sitting back anymore. He stood up. "And where's Sagara?" he asked, looking around and finding his clothes suspiciously not present. "And where's my clothes?"  
  
Tsubamme resisted the urge to cower behind the tray too much. "Enishi-san, the girls are probably in danger. Aoshi-san says that Rizzu has the technique of the hitokiri battousai......"  
  
Enishi stopped rummaging through the drawers in the small dresser. They were full of medical supplies...... nothing for him to wear in them. "What did you say?" he asked, knowing full well what the waitress had said. "He has Battousai's...... skill?"  
  
"Hai!" Tsubamme confirmed.   
  
He cursed. "I need to get to her!" he shouted, bare feet slapping the wooden floor as he shoved the door aside. He was starting to feel oddly panicked. He had lost Tomoe to Kenshin - the hitiokiri Battousai. Now he was going to loose Kaoru to his technique? It wasn't fair.  
  
He felt a buzzing in his ears, the angry noise of a million bees. It was making it hard for him to think. Fury at the injustice of the universe was tearing at his body, making him want to spill the blood of his enemies. His vision was distorting with the need to destroy. Mindlessly, he put his fist through one thin paper wall.  
  
He heard a squeal of delight. "Uncle Enishi!" Suzume exclaimed. She climbed to her feet and ran over to him, hugging his leg while her sister hugged his other leg. "You're all better now!"  
  
"All better!" Ayame cheered. She detached herself from his leg and picked up a handful of wilting dandelions.   
  
"We picked a couple of flowers for you," Suzume said, handing the wilting blossoms to him.   
  
"Play with us!" Ayame suggested, picking up an entirely new conversation thread. "I wanna play ball!" She held up a brightly colored ball and gazed at him imploringly.  
  
Enishi's vision cleared and he dropped to his knees in front of them. "I gotta go see Kaoru right now. I'll come back and play with you later, okay?"  
  
Both girls shrugged. "Okay," Suzume agreed.  
  
"Kay," Ayame echoed.  
  
Enishi quickly stood up and hurried out the door. Catching sight of Tsubamme with an armful of clothes, he hurried over to her. "Tsubamme-chan, where did Rizzu take Kaoru?" he asked.  
  
"We don't know. Misao-chan tracked them from the Akabeko," she answered.   
  
"You said that Aoshi went too?" Enishi asked, disappearing behind a door and pulling on the white hakama and blue gi that she had given him. He tied the sash and stepped into the hallway, feeling awkward preparing for battle without his regular clothes.  
  
"Hai!" Tsubamme agreed. "He left as soon as he realized it was Rizzu. Sano-san and Yahiko-chan both went with him."  
  
"And you don't know where?" Enishi murmured, more to himself then to her. He was going to have trouble getting to where Kaoru was. He wasn't a shinobi like the Kyoto group......  
  
He smiled suddenly. "Who all came from Kyoto?" he asked slyly.  
  
Tsubamme looked startled. "Why everyone," she said. "He..... ck I even think Master Hiko might be on his way......" It was the longest drawn out heck that Enishi had ever heard. Clearly the shy waitress had nearly cursed. The news that Hiko was possibly on his way was making him want to curse, but he had found out what he needed to know.  
  
"Arigatou," he said, patting her on top of her head gratefully. He pushed open the door leading outside and waved briefly before disappearing down the street.  
  
********************************  
  
Okon was feeling flirtatious. She was dressed up in a brand new silk kimono and knew that she looked hot. Even the ever elusive Hiko would have to admit she was a knock-out. She sighed contentedly, imagining how he would react to her new attire.  
  
"Okon.... of the Oniwabanshuu?" a man's voice asked behind her.   
  
"Er.....hai!" she said automatically, turning and looking at none other then Enishi Yukishiro himself. She restrained a startled yelp and suddenly realized the flaw in her outfit. It didn't have room for her weapons, so she had left them behind.  
  
"Good, I need your help," Enishi said. He hadn't thought it would be so easy to find a shinobi, but she had been the most colorful girl in the crowd.   
  
"With what?" she asked suspiciously, alerting him that she didn't have a clue about what was going on.   
  
He rubbed his hand through his spiky white hair. "Kaoru Kamiya is in danger. I have to save her." He debated telling her more then that, but decided against it. She didn't need to know anything that might make her not want to help him.  
  
"Does Aoshi-sama and Misao-chan know?" she asked, stepping closer to him. She couldn't decide if he was lying or not.  
  
"They left while I was still unconscious," he explained. "We'll talk on the way. I need you to trace a kidnapper."  
  
"Someone kidnapped Kaoru-san?" Okon asked. She got a steely tone to her voice and her eyes had started sweeping the crowd for any signs of danger.  
  
"Rizzu, a Shinto priest, kidnapped our son. Kaoru went after him," Enishi offered as an explanation. "Kaoru and I are to be married."  
  
Okon didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally she spoke. "I'll need a trail to follow."  
  
Enishi nodded and took her to the Akebeko.  
  
His heart was starting to really hurt. What if something bad was happening to Kaoru right now? What if she died? Would he be able to recover? It hadn't been very long since he had arrived in Tokyo, but somehow he didn't ever want to leave again.  
  
Kaoru was what he needed. She was his medicine...... the one thing that staved madness from his soul. He found her presence soothing and rarely even thought about revenge in her presence. And she understood about the baby. She felt the same way that he did.   
  
Thinking of her made him feel strange. It made his heart beat faster and slower at the same time. He knew that know..... he just didn't know how long she had had that effect on him.   
  
One thing he did know; he loved her.  
  
"Hang on, Kaoru," he whispered. As they started towards the cabin on the mountainside at a brisk pace.  
  
******************************************  
  
Aoshi felt cold inside. Frozen and on the verge of despair. Misao was probably dead by know. Rizzu, armed with Kenshin's technique, would be unstoppable. They were all probably dead by now. All he was going to accomplish would be killing Rizzu and avenging their deaths.  
  
He tracked Misao's trail almost effortlessly, she had left a lot of broken twigs as she left; obviously expecting to be followed eventually. He had a clear trail to follow and was making good time, but still......... Would it be enough? Would he ever get to see her again?  
  
He pushed the thought out of his mind. He couldn't let himself think like that. He just couldn't. Not if he wanted to be able to keep going. Then the trail disappeared.   
  
He scanned furiously, his worry causing him to skip over several barely noticeable clues. "I lost them," he said, his voice emotionally cold while fear and despair coursed inside of him.  
  
Sano and Yahiko stopped walking, trading looks before starting to look for the trail themselves. "We'll find it," Yahiko said firmly.  
  
"The little weasel and raccoon are counting on us," Sano added.  
  
That is, if they're not already dead. Aoshi let the thought slide across the icy expanse of his mind. "Let us pray that we are not to late."  
  
***************************************  
  
Kaoru couldn't take Kenshin into combat, so she did the next best thing. She carried him into the woods on the other side of the cabin and hid him in a hollow tree trunk. She laid a blanket down around him and game him a couple of wooden spoons to play with. Then she headed towards the battle that she knew was taking place.  
  
She had retrieved a solid boken from inside the cabin and was making good time over the now familiar trail leading into the valley. She felt fear and uncertainty slip away. She wasn't going to fight Kenshin..... she was going to fight Rizzu and he wouldn't be able to stop her from winning.  
  
The old confidence was back in full force. She would win because he had to. The lives of Misao and Kenshin were hanging on the line.   
  
As she drew closer, she heard the sounds of battle. She heard Misao calling out the names of her techniques while Rizzu called out the names of Kenshin's techniques. Kaoru didn't make any noise. She was going to use surprise to her advantage as much as she could.  
  
She burst into the small clearing. Her body tingling in anticipation of the upcoming battle. Her eyes took in everything: Rizzu, standing over a crumpled and bleeding Misao, the blood spurting from his smashed nose, the fury causing splotches of rage to appear on his neck and temple, Misao's scattered kunai and the awkward angle of her body lying on the ground.  
  
"Hold it right there, Rizzu!" she exclaimed. "You have to fight me now!"  
  
The priest turned slowly, a grin playing across his face. "I'll do more then that," he promised. "I'll kill you."  
  
"We'll see about that!" Kaoru exclaimed. Then she attacked.  
  
*************************************  
  
Author's notes;  
  
Glossery of Japanesse terms;  
  
Chan = little  
  
Sama = lord  
  
San= Mr. or Mrs. or Miss {It can mean any of them.}  
  
Kunai = small little daggeres used by some ninja instead of shurkien {thowing stars}  
  
Shinobi = ninja  
  
Nani= what  
  
Arigatou = thank-you  
  
Although, I'm not 100% certain that I spelled them all correctly right.  
  
Thanks for reading,  
  
Kissa-chan 


	15. Happily ever after?

Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
She didn't really have a plan for beating him. She just knew that she had to. Her body twisted away from his initial attack, surprising herself with it's agility.  
  
"Luck," Rizzu told her, his voice sounding strange through his busted nose. "The technique of the Hittokiri Battousai -"  
  
"The Kammiya Kasshin Ryuu is the swordstyle that revitalizes life," Kaoru interrupted, bringing her bokken to a offense position. "I will defeat you without killing." She forced the words out for her own sake. Sometimes people needed to be reminded of who they were. If they didn't constantly aspire to keep their personal moral code, it often was lost and forgotten in the heat of a battle for their very future. She couldn't let that happen.  
  
"You will die," Rizzu said with a snort. He slashed towards her with inhuman speed.   
  
Kaoru raised her bokken away from the slash and brought it down sharply on his knuckles. He was trying to disarm her first, she realized. That was why he had adjusted his attack to hit her bokken mid shaft.   
  
His eyes seemed slightly surprised. Clearly he hadn't meant for her to realize his plan. "Fine, I'll just kill you!" he exclaimed. He stepped back, sheathing his weapon and getting into a battou-jutsu stance.   
  
Kaoru looked at him scornfully. "For a girl not even armed with a sword, you would use the Final Technique of the Hiten Mitsurgi Ryuu?"  
  
He nodded his head slightly. "Oh yeah," he breathed.  
  
Kaoru felt the beginnings of fear to begin fluttering through her body again. There was no way to dodge or block the upcoming attack. She was as good as dead and what was worse, was that she knew it. "I'm sorry, Enishi," she whispered. "I.... I really did want to marry you. I really did... love you. I still love you."  
  
She squared off against Rizzu. Regardless on the inevitable outcome, she would fight to the last, giving ever possible second of her life to protect her friends and new found family.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Okon was dressed in her combat ninja outfit. "This trail is pretty straight foreword," she called over her shoulder of Enishi. "Misao-chan must have anticipated being followed."  
  
"Are you sure that it wasn't Shinamori?" Enishi inquired. He tried to keep conversation light and restrain the panic that wanted to romp freely through him. He couldn't take it. Every second passing was one more that might mean the end for Kaoru.  
  
"Aoshi-sama would never leave a trail this blatant. It would be too easy for enemies to follow. He's an excellent shinobi, leaving no trail is second nature to him. And that's a good thing."  
  
"How?" Enishi forced himself to ask. Maybe it would have been a better idea to find the other shinobi. He was having a hard time focusing on all the conversation that Okon was effortlessly keeping up.  
  
"Isn't that obvious? It means that he's probably already with Misao-chan and Kaoru-san. The kidnapper doesn't stand a chance."  
  
Enishi didn't contradict her, although he felt slightly less panicked. Shinamori was a good fighter. He would be able to fight on the Battousai's level for a period of time. That meant he had to get there in time to finished the damned priest off!  
  
"Hey, it's Enishi!" Yahiko exclaimed.   
  
Enishi stopped his rapid pace. "Why aren't you with Shinamori?" he asked softly, fearing threatening his calm composure.  
  
Yahiko rubbed the back of his head. "I am, it's just that he lost the trail of the girls and that priest guy -"  
  
"So they're still alone!" Enishi hissed angrily. He smashed his fist into a tree in frustration. "If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive myself," he cursed.   
  
Yahiko didn't say anything. Although he finally understood what Kaoru and Enishi had. They weren't doing what they were doing for appearance sake. They honestly and truly loved each other. And somehow or another, they wanted the best for Kenshin as well.   
  
"I'm sorry, Yukishiro-san," Yahiko said with a heavy sigh. "This might not be the time or place, but... I could never live with myself if I didn't say it. I'm sorry for protesting to you and Kaoru getting married - and everything about Kenshin - I'm sorry that it came to this. You really do love her, don't you?"  
  
Enishi nodded mutely. "Yes, I do."  
  
"Then let's go find her and save the day!" Yahiko proclaimed. He caught a glimpse of white through some trees. "You find anything, Sano?"  
  
"No! And Aoshi's having some sort of break-down. You gotta help him -"  
  
"Why me?!" Yahiko shouted back, running closer by the second with Enishi hot on his heels.  
  
"I have to go save the little missy," Sano said. His warm brown eyes fell onto the silent form of Enishi and he nodded his head slightly. "We'll take off now. You stay with him."  
  
"Hai!" Yahiko agreed.  
  
Sano tilted his head in one direction and started running that way. Enishi followed him.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
He felt emotionally drained. He felt weaker then he ever had in the past. He couldn't seem to find the strength to keep going. Aoshi Shinamori had never been in this type of a situation before. He had never really tasted the fear that came when you knew your loved ones were in danger.  
  
With Hannya and the others, he didn't have any time to fear for their lives. He didn't feel the cold despair - only the icy desire for revenge. But this time it was different. This time it was Misao.  
  
She had always loved him. Ever vibrant and cheerful, she stood by his side with an unwavering love. He and put her through so much, and somehow had never managed to tell her how he felt. He had never told her how he felt for her.  
  
And now. . . . . . . . . . . he was alone and she was gone. It was drawing close to the end for him. He could practically feel him life fading into the nothingness that he had surrounded himself with, but first he had one final piece of business to attend too. First he had to find Rizzu and make him pay for killing her.   
  
Because there was no way that she was still alive. He was left with despair once more. This time there wasn't any Himura to bring him back. There wasn't any Misao to return to.  
  
He stood up, eyes like chips of burning ice. He would find the trail and then he would kill Rizzu. Everything would be much simpler with that mind set.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Yahiko frowned. Aoshi had been completely ignoring him. Then he had gotten up with a look screaming death and started walking slowly uphill.   
  
"Uh, did you find the trail?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
There was no response.   
  
"Great, I got stuck with the one that doesn't talk."  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Okon stopped and turned back to Enishi only to find him gone. "The trail splits two ways from here -" she started to say. "Huh? Where'd he go?" she asked out loud. She had arrived at the cabin, having stopped talking to Enishi a little ways back when the trail had gotten scarce.  
  
She stilled her body, listening for any noises that would indicate people nearby. Birds chirped along the path leading down, but the one leading into the woods remained devoid of animal noises. Which was a sure sign that there was someone in that direction.  
  
She broke into a light run, deciding not to go back of Enishi. He could catch up at his own pace. The trail led to a hollow tree. From inside the soft sound of baby snores were still keeping the forest critters uncertain enough to be silent.  
  
Okon crouched down and picked the baby up. "You must be Kaoru and Enishi's baby," she told the little red haired boy." She started back through the forest trail and back into the clearing with the cabin. There was no sign that anyone had been there since she had come through.  
  
She started back towards Tokyo, hoping to run into Enishi before she got there.  
  
"Kenshin!" Enishi exclaimed, spotting them first. "Did you find Kaoru, is she all right?" He stroked the baby's face tenderly with on finger.  
  
Okon looked at him curiously. "I'm going to get the baby out of here and back to Tokyo. If you keep going straight you'll come to a log cabin. There's a narrow path leading into the ravine... several people have been up and down it recently. You should find Kaoru and Misao down there."  
  
"Thanks!" Sano shouted over his shoulder, racing off after Enishi.   
  
Moments later, Okon noted Yahiko and Aoshi heading in the same direction. Deciding that they looked rather serious, she didn't both with them and neglected to call out a greeting.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Everything hurt. Misao twisted from her position and fell flat on her back. Breathing was seeming to be a harder task by the second and the heat soaking through her clothes let her know that the cut was very serious.  
  
But still, even with a deep cut like that, she had no business lying around uselessly while her best friend was being pursued by a psycho priest. She forced her weary body to a sitting position, a wave of blackness swimming in front of her eyes. When they focused, she saw several things.   
  
Enishi, Sano, Yahiko, and Aoshi was making there way down the ravine in a dead sprint. All of them had their weapons at the ready. And then she saw Rizzu and Kaoru, facing off with unfavorable odds. There was no question what was going to happen. The others would never be close enough in time.  
  
That meant things were up to her. She drew her remaining kunai, not bothering to search the ground for any others. She watched Rizzu's body, waiting for the tell-tale signs of movement. Hoping that she would be able to see the move start - and never finish.  
  
He was bleeding from his nose - having been hit by a lucky kick from Misao. His eyes were narrowed on the slender sword instructor standing before him. And then they widened slightly. His weight shifted foreword slightly and then he vanished and Misao flung her single kunai with a scream of fury.  
  
She heard noise, but couldn't focus enough to see what happened. She collapsed foreword, her body refusing to support her anymore. The blood on her back was beginning to feel cold. She was starting to feel sluggish and chilly. Then she passed out.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
It was useless, but she attacked. She moved foreword when he vanished, swinging her bokken towards he opponent. She put her body into the blow, channeling all of her power and speed into the one blow. Even if it never landed, she would have given it her all. 100% of her skill, with nothing held back for any reason.   
  
The bokken connected solidly with the side of Rizzu's face, sending him spiraling to the side with the force of the blow. The katana went sailing through the air, landing beside Enishi and the others as they hit the bottom.  
  
Kaoru was still holding her finishing position, astonished that she had managed to hit him, much less knock him out. Her weapon fell from her shocked fingers and she drew herself upright, looking down at the priest.   
  
His body was changing again. The lines of age filling out and his hair changing color from dark to white and whispy.  
  
"Nani?" she murmured, feeling confused. She felt arms close around her from behind, and tilted her head up and back at an angel. "What happened?" she asked, knowing that it was Enishi, but not much else.  
  
"I love you," Enishi responded. He squeezed her tighter in his arms, and rested his head on hers. "I thought that I had lost you. I thought that I was going to watch you die." His voice was thick with unshed tears. "Our son... he's all right. Okon is taking him back to -"  
  
"I... love you," Kaoru said with the barest hint of a stammer. "I just realized that a moment ago. She twisted in his arms, tilting her head up. He was crying shamelessly and she knew that tears were streaming down her face. "I didn't know if you were going to live or -"  
  
"Sorry to interrupt, but how did you beat him Kaoru?" Yahiko asked. "I didn't see anything except you clocking him in the head."  
  
Kaoru shook her head wordlessly. She didn't know how she had won, and at the moment, she didn't care. She leaned back into Enishi's arms feeling them tighten protectively around her. She was safe now. And he was safe. They would finally be able to make a new life for themselves. And the good thing was that it seemed her friends finally weren't against her anymore.  
  
Sano knelt down beside the unconscious old priest. "I think I can explain," he said after a quick investigation. "The Hiten Mitsurgui Ryuu isn't meant to be used like he was using it. Kenshin had to learn to value his life again before he mastered it fully. I don't think Rizzu expected to -"  
  
"It could be how you're explaining it... or it could be because he's got a kunai in his swordhand," Yahiko announced. "Guess which way I'm voting. That Weasel-girl must have flung this in anticipation of where he was going to end. It probably distracted him and caused him to revert to normal stats and then - BAM!"  
  
Kaoru felt another wash of horror sweep over her. "MISAO!" she shouted, breaking free of Enishi's grasp and rushing towards the spot where she had been lying. The grass blades were crushed and coated with a layer of crimson blood, but the ninja wasn't there.  
  
Kaoru felt a hand on her shoulder. "Shinamori is with her." Kaoru looked and saw Aoshi holding her gently in his arms. His white trench coat was wrapped around her still form.  
  
Aoshi seemed oblivious to the eyes watching him. He pressed a kiss to Misao's lips, murmuring something close to her face. Although the others couldn't hear it he voiced the name to the feeling he had tried to squash for Misao from the first time that he saw her. "I love you. I never told you." He had tears brimming in his eyes, but they didn't fall.  
  
Misao's eyes fluttered open for a second. "That's silly, Aoshi-sama. I've always known that you cared... somewhere deep inside." She smiled shakily.   
  
"Don't die," Aoshi ordered softly. "I need you. I want you."  
  
Misao nodded her head slightly and leaned against his chest. "I'll be okay. I going to be your bride someday.... you'll see."  
  
"When you're better, we will get married," Aoshi whispered. He looked at the young woman in his arms and was surprised to see tears flowing freely down her face. "That is... unless you do not wish too," he said, struggling on the words.  
  
"Just happy," Misao sobbed. "I love you forever."  
  
Enishi kissed the top of Kaoru's head. "I love you forever," he repeated Misao's line.   
  
"What was that?" Kaoru asked.  
  
"We should get going. Misao is going to need to see a doctor," he answered. He started moving away from the clearing. Aoshi followed, carrying Misao protectively and lovingly in his arms.  
  
Sano hoisted Rizzu onto his back. "I still say he lost because he doesn't know the value of life."  
  
"And I still say it's because he had a kunai rammed through his hand," Yahiko fumed right back at him.  
  
Enishi held Kaoru close to his side and started up the ravine. "I love you." Their words came at the same time. And for the first time in a long time, they both felt content.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Author's notes;That's the end. Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story. I loved your support and your comments aimed towards making my story more sound. For those of you who wished that Kenshin be returned to his own age - I'm sorry, that wasn't in the story agenda.  
  
Thanks for reading,  
  
Kissa-chan 


End file.
